CBN bows to pressure, increases withdrawal limits

,,,,,The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has bowed to pressure from across the country as it announced increment of the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals.

The CBN raised the bar across all channels and made limit for individuals and corporate organisations to N500,000 and N5million, respectively.

The CBN said this in a letter addressed to banks on Wednesday.

The apex bank said it made the decision based on feedback received from stakeholders.

The letter reads, “Following our circular BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/069 dated December 6, 2022 on the above subject and based on feedback received from stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hereby makes the following reviews:

,,,,,“The maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organizations shall be N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 respectively.

“In compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limits in (1) above is required for legitimate purposes, such requests shall be subject to a processing fee of 3% and 5% for individuals and corporate organizations, respectively.

“Further to (2) above, the financial institution shall obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose:

“Valid means of identification of the payee (National ID, International Passport, or Driver’s License). b. Bank Verification Number (BVN) of the payee.

“Tax Identification Number (TIN) of both the payee and the payer d. Approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the financial institution authorising the withdrawal.

“Third party cheques above N100,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while the extant limit of N10 million on clearing cheques still subsist.”

,,,,,,The apex bank had weeks ago pegged weekly cash withdrawal limit at N100,000 for individuals, a development that has caused furore in the polity.