Central Bank of Nigeria to limit cash withdrawals

[MoonOfLife]

This move might just be considered politically motivated by some. The redesigning of the currency notes obviously at a time close to the country’s general election could as well be considered politically motivated as well. But it has its uses as well.
This new move by the central bank to limit cash withdrawals would certainly come as a surprise to its citizens as most citizens and small businesses  probably utilize cash payments more often and this would somewhat be a hindrance to businesses as well as funds for personal uses.
This could also be a move to minimize the amount of cash in circulation and further to curb inflation in the country.

That may be more of a political motive than to solve the current problems of the Nigerian government. Restricting  withdrawal will cause heavy damage to businesses and have no effect on controlling inflation. In order to control inflation, deposit interest rates must be increased to attract people to deposit money in banks, thereby controlling cash flow, not restricting withdrawals.

[panganib999]

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pegged maximum over the counter (OTC) cash withdrawal per week for individuals at N100,000 and N500,000 for corporate organisations.

...
The circular read: “Further to the launch of the redesigned Naira notes by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and in line with the Cashless policy of the CBN, all deposit money banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions (OFls) are hereby directed to note and comply with the following:

"The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,OOO respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.
“Third party cheques above N50,OOO shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.”

...

The circular further stated that, the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.”

Also “only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.”

The maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (POS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily, the circular further stated.

The circular further stated that in “compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits is required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed and for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (I) above, in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.”

The central bank of Nigeria is changing up the entire system to try to boost the economy and the dwindling naira.
I personally do not fancy the idea of limiting how much cash withdrawals one can make within certain periods of time and putting a low cap on that.
This would adversely affect SMEs around the country and while it would push more people to exchange digitally through cashless means, it would have lots of negative sides

How the policy would impact the economy and more importantly the citizens would be seen next month.

one of the worst things you can do when your currency is on the verge of collapse. You don't stop people from withdrawing for no reason whatsoever. The process of withdrawal and deposit is where the money is at, so by cutting off one end of the chain they are just putting a hamper on the circulation of their currency. Less money from withdrawals-less money to spend. Less money spent, more money kept and inflation will come in.

That may be more of a political motive than to solve the current problems of the Nigerian government. Restricting  withdrawal will cause heavy damage to businesses and have no effect on controlling inflation. In order to control inflation, deposit interest rates must be increased to attract people to deposit money in banks, thereby controlling cash flow, not restricting withdrawals.

Agreed. You have to inspire people to actually spend their money one way or another, not have them lose trust of the bank. I don't see the point in antagonizing businesses as well. They are the ones that are fostering the economy. What is going in Nigeria, why is everything their government doing there backwards of what they claim it to be?

[Majestic-milf]

This issue of the limitation of cash withdrawal is really something to be bothered about as it looks like it's not everyone who's comfortable with the prospect.
 News has it that the House of Reps are finding it difficult to wrap their heads on the proposition by the CBN governor, Emiefele and has been called in to give a report on how the redesigned naira note budget came about since it wasn't approved by the house.
 Nigeria seems confused at this point from the way I see it.

[Sexylizzy2813]

News has it that the House of Reps are finding it difficult to wrap their heads on the proposition by the CBN governor, Emiefele and has been called in to give a report on how the redesigned naira note budget came about since it wasn't approved by the house.
 Nigeria seems confused at this point from the way I see it.

The CBN Governor is just being used to cover this act, it seems they're all looking for who to blame in this naira note change of a thing. They're just using the fact that we're getting close to the general election and moving money as usual is certain.

If care is not taken the new notes won't be legalized come next year. As it stands, with the way people are condemning the newly printed notes it will make them to use something to cover up, starting with the fact that nobody I mean nobody approved the change of the naira notes. If nobody did, then who did?

[Joshapat]

The issue of cash withdrawals restrictions is common, in my country, this also occurs several times, the main factor that is common is a very high inflation so that if money continues to circulate, inflation will not be controlled, besides the cash withdrawals limitation policy is a strategy of The central bank to hold money so that it can be used for more productive activities.

[JoyMarsha]

They are merely attempting to promote a cashless economy. These rules may undoubtedly be difficult for some people at times, but you can transfer any amount you like and desire if you have urgent needs or run businesses that need extra money.

Many people will lose their hard-earned money on these bank transfers from dishonest banks, I hope they would reduce fraud in bank transfers.

At the end of the day, bankers will undoubtedly sell cash, and wealthy men wouldn't mind paying interest on the excess

[el kaka22]

I feel like 200 or so dollars per week doesn't seem like too little, I do not have 200 dollars per week to cash out for example, and to be fair I never did, not because I never had that much, but because most of my stuff is digital anyway and sent from my bank or paid with credit card, so no cash required.

Does that mean this is okay? Of course not, because you are limiting peoples freedom to take their money, if that money is mine, I should be able to withdraw it whenever I want to, and if government doesn't allow me to, that is a good reason why bitcoin is far superior than most fiats in the world, it doesn't limit you and governments can't do anything to control it.

[Bobrox]

I feel like 200 or so dollars per week doesn't seem like too little, I do not have 200 dollars per week to cash out for example, and to be fair I never did, not because I never had that much, but because most of my stuff is digital anyway and sent from my bank or paid with credit card, so no cash required.

Does that mean this is okay? Of course not, because you are limiting peoples freedom to take their money, if that money is mine, I should be able to withdraw it whenever I want to, and if government doesn't allow me to, that is a good reason why bitcoin is far superior than most fiats in the world, it doesn't limit you and governments can't do anything to control it.

I don't think huge amount with 200 dollar withdrawing per week base on Central Bank of Nigeria limit cash withdrawing, we can't spent with $200 in daily day and how come effective until one week purchasing daily day needed with this values. Right now the Bank costumer not get freedom controlling their money after saving in the bank, always faced difficulty how to withdraw huge amount of their money when one day urgent needed their saving.

I think Central Bank of Nigeria need to change about regulation about limit cash withdrawing because give bad impact for the other won't save their money in the bank, will have criminal cases if can't withdraw all their money in the bank if limited rule keep use by Central Bank of Nigeria.

[NdaMk]

Since the new regulations were announced, many comments have been made about them by those who will be affected directly or indirectly in the country. I believe they did it for the sake of the country's economy. We don't know where this is going, but whatever it is, we're confident that it will be for the good of the entire country. No policy has ever been implemented in a country without public opposition, and this is no exception. But we can only hope that it is for the benefit of Nigerian citizens.

[franky1]

im just reading into the specifics of e-naira the CBDC of nigeria

so pages 19/27
https://enaira.gov.ng/assets/download/eNaira_Design_Paper.pdf

having a wallet/account on your phone. the spend limit is
wallet level 0:(unbanked - unidentified)
daily            weekly
20,000         120,000
No kyc. just uses phone number as an identifier


wallet level 1:(unbanked)
daily            weekly
50,000         300,000
simple kyc. uses phone number and national identity numberNIN


wallet level 2:(banked)
daily            weekly
200,000       500,000
kyc. uses phone number, NIN and bank verification numberBVN


wallet level 3:(banked)
daily            weekly
500,000       5,000,000
kyc. uses phone number, NIN and bank verification numberBVN

wallet level 4:(business-corp)
daily            weekly
unlimited     unlimited
full kyc. BVN, TIN and Bank confirmation


as for those thinking "cwentral bank has politicians that watch out every transaction

no

page 20/27

However, considering that the CBN is adopting a platform model to market, it means it would rely on financial institutions and other payment service providers to deliver layered value-added services on the eNaira platform. The CBN as such alluded to the fact that the role of AML/CFT checks will be handled by financial institutions who have close proximity and provide value added services to customers.
To facilitate this process, customers will have the option to choose their preferred banking partner during the onboarding process and customers will be linked to that bank. The linked banks will as such be responsible for performing AML/CFT checks on the users and ensuring overall compliance.

in short
the government is not watching you..

but your local payment service provider will. .. much like how the banking systems of fiat work now

[Lida93]

I did threw my weight behind this policy as adopted by the central bank of Nigeria from when I first got the news. Like it's what every good meaning Nigerian should applaud the CBN for having taken such a bold step to making sure the naira recede from dwindling in value against other currencies of the world. This money policy has a way of bringing out the Nigeria economy from the base it's currently in at least to an extent. It will definitely reduce financial fraud and misappropriation in the public offices and make room for some level of transparency based on the restrictions that be.

The regulations may seem to bring untold hardship for Nigerians in terms of how to go about with the new policy but with time Nigerians will get used to it and adapt as things go normal. The only area am much concerned about this new policy by the CBN is in the area of continuity should a new administration come into power after the March 2023 general elections.

[Asiska02]

This is a new policy, so we'll have to wait and see where it goes. The reason for this may be unknown to many Nigerians, but I believe the main intention is to improve the economic clampdown that the country has been experiencing for quite some time. Let us think positively about this, and I hope the true motive is to benefit everyone, both rich and poor citizens. Before reaching this point, I'm sure it was subjected to extensive scrutiny by top government officials; we hope the Federal Government of Nigeria has made the right decision.

[Iroh]

I did threw my weight behind this policy as adopted by the central bank of Nigeria from when I first got the news. Like it's what every good meaning Nigerian should applaud the CBN for having taken such a bold step to making sure the naira recede from dwindling in value against other currencies of the world. This money policy has a way of bringing out the Nigeria economy from the base it's currently in at least to an extent. It will definitely reduce financial fraud and misappropriation in the public offices and make room for some level of transparency based on the restrictions that be.

The regulations may seem to bring untold hardship for Nigerians in terms of how to go about with the new policy but with time Nigerians will get used to it and adapt as things go normal. The only area am much concerned about this new policy by the CBN is in the area of continuity should a new administration come into power after the March 2023 general elections.

I’m curious as to how exactly would this new policy that’s being rolled out help reduce financial fraud and most especially, help reduce the misappropriation of funds in the public sector. And how exactly does more transparency from the side of the government come into this?
In my opinion, this move is to curb inflation in the society by the reduction of the amount of cash currently in circulation and to help encourage the cashless policy.

In a country where corruption thrives, a policy like this would do little or nothing to curb financial fraud or misappropriation of public funds from corrupt public office holders.

[teosanru]

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pegged maximum over the counter (OTC) cash withdrawal per week for individuals at N100,000 and N500,000 for corporate organisations.

...
The circular read: “Further to the launch of the redesigned Naira notes by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and in line with the Cashless policy of the CBN, all deposit money banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions (OFls) are hereby directed to note and comply with the following:

"The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,OOO respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.
“Third party cheques above N50,OOO shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.”

...

The circular further stated that, the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.”

Also “only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.”

The maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (POS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily, the circular further stated.

The circular further stated that in “compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits is required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed and for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (I) above, in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.”

The central bank of Nigeria is changing up the entire system to try to boost the economy and the dwindling naira.
I personally do not fancy the idea of limiting how much cash withdrawals one can make within certain periods of time and putting a low cap on that.
This would adversely affect SMEs around the country and while it would push more people to exchange digitally through cashless means, it would have lots of negative sides

How the policy would impact the economy and more importantly the citizens would be seen next month.

A very normal thing done by most of the developing economies these days. Limiting the amount of cash withdrawal to ensure that a lot of liquidity always remains in the system and all the transactions can be easily accounted for. Even though in longer term it's a step that increases financial inclusiveness of the country so in that way it's pretty good but if you see the basic of limiting someone to withdraw money from his very own account, the basic concept looks flawed to me.

[DrBeer]

Measures are generally taken, such as:
1. a means of combating huge "deposits" of corruption or other illegal accumulations.
2. also as a "safeguard" to prevent a short-term collapse of the economy.

The meaning is very simple - the mass population does not have significant savings, and, accordingly, without any problems, not very quickly, of course, but they will withdraw and exchange their hard-earned savings.
At the same time, due to artificial restrictions, it will not be possible to sow panic that the people withdrew all the money in 1 day! Because that's another problem - banks are running out of cash, this can lead to popular discontent / riots, and this can be exploited.
And having withdrawn all the money, the population could have bought out all the essential products in all stores, creating also a food problem...

And about "dishonest money". If someone managed to steal / appropriate / receive corrupt benefits, in a huge amount, it will be extremely difficult for him to turn such savings into new money, all because of the same limits. even if he distributes bags of money to his relatives/relatives/friends

[Semar Mesem]

Cash withdrawals are common when the bank feels that the balance is on the threshold of the minimum. I have also had several times received cash withdrawals from banks in my country for reasons of reduced liquidity, but as long as there is a central bank, this is not a problem and usually only short-term moments. the bank will ask the central bank to help.

[Freddie Boyer]

I think the decision is well made to limit cash based economic activities to control the current situation in the country. meaning that banks are trying to protect the interests of the state in the midst of the current economic crisis especially for more pressing matters to be taken care of by the government such as job creation, empowerment, good infrastructure, etc.

[m2017]

Here is another example of what is in the bank - it doesn't belong to you. If you can't take what is yours at any given time, how can you call it yours? I think in this case, it's not for you. Any such case can be considered in different directions. I think there is something positive in this. By limiting withdrawals, banks encourage depositors to ask questions. For example, why keep money in the bank if you can't pick it up later.

Attempts to stimulate the economy in this way demonstrate only one thing - that the central bank doesn't cope with its functions if it brings the economy to such a state.

[Anguwa]

This cash withdrawal cap will actually have a positive impact on Nigeria's economic system. It will also enhance cashless policies, exposing many Nigerians to blockchain technology. Perhaps for this reason, the Nigerian government wanted to teach some of its citizens about blockchain technology and may have used this as a test to gauge public interest in it. Additionally, this policy will lessen money laundering and corruption in the nation.

[Gozie51]

This cash withdrawal cap will actually have a positive impact on Nigeria's economic system. It will also enhance cashless policies, exposing many Nigerians to blockchain technology. Perhaps for this reason, the Nigerian government wanted to teach some of its citizens about blockchain technology and may have used this as a test to gauge public interest in it. Additionally, this policy will lessen money laundering and corruption in the nation.

Sorry bro. It is unfortunate that you have not really understood the Nigerian system. You are yet to know that policies are usually targeted against some people and not for the greater good of the whole people. Why is this policy coming at the tail end of this administration when election is just barely two months to be conducted? This is the question.

It is a selfish interest carried out at the wrong time. It is targeted for the political season and for whatever reason that they know better.