Commercial banks in the country are progressively increasing the daily withdrawal limit on automated teller machines (ATMs) to N200,000, following a period of cash withdrawal restrictions.
Zenith Bank recently informed its customers via email that they can now withdraw up to N200,000 per day from its ATM terminals nationwide, regardless of the bank that issued their card.
However, the bank clarified that the N500,000 weekly cashless policy withdrawal limit for individuals remains unchanged.
There are indications that other banks in the country may adopt a similar approach, allowing their customers to withdraw substantial amounts, approximately N200,000, through ATM machines, even though they have not made official announcements.
Previously, commercial banks in the country had enforced a daily withdrawal limit of N20,000 specifically for ATM transactions made with cards issued by other banks.
Meanwhile, this measure was implemented as part of the naira redesign policy.
Last December, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced restrictions on weekly cash withdrawals over the counter, limiting them to N100,000 for individuals and N500,000 for organizations.
Additionally, daily cash withdrawals at point of sale (POS) and ATM terminals were set at N20,000, effective from January 9, 2023.
Customers had resorted to actively seeking their own bank’s ATMs to make multiple withdrawals or resorting to in-person cash withdrawals at the bank’s counter.
A circular issued by the apex bank during that period outlined the maximum weekly and daily cash withdrawal limits and specified that only denominations of N200 and below would be loaded into ATMs.
The limitations on POS transactions and specific denominations have not been effectively maintained, as cash withdrawals through POS terminals have exceeded the N20,000 limit, while ATMs continue to dispense only N1,000 and N500 banknotes.
