Nigerian commercial banks have set withdrawal limits on their automated teller machines (ATMs)
This followed reported cases of cash scarcity in some parts of the country in the second half of last year.
On November 2, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the scarcity experienced in some locations was due to a high volume of withdrawals from its branches by banks and panic withdrawals by customers from ATMs.
The CBN also said there was sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in Nigeria and assured its branches across the country were working to ensure seamless cash circulation in their respective states of operation.
While the scarcity persisted, the apex bank, on December 13, blamed the situation on hoarding, stating most of the cash given to banks was in the hands of individuals.
A year before, the CBN had attempted to limit cash circulation by implementing a cap on ATM withdrawals, to encourage cashless transactions.
The CBN reduced ATM withdrawals on December 6, 2022, to N20,000 daily and N100,000 per week. However, on December 21 of the same year, the regulator reviewed the cash withdrawal limits across all channels to N500,000 and N5,000,000 per week for individual and corporate organisations, respectively after a public outburst.
This took effect on January 9, 2023.
However, recent findings across various locations in Lagos showed that banks have restored limits on ATM withdrawals.
According to the report, the cap set on account holders also restricts the customers to a certain amount should they attempt to withdraw from a different bank.
