The Central Bank of Nigeria said it approved the Over-the-counter withdrawal of new naira notes by deposit money banks (DMBs) to fight the increased Naira scarcity that has seen POS operators charge Nigerians as high as 10% per transaction. This was disclosed in a directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday The scarcity has led to an increased slowdown in person-to-person and person-to-business transactions across Nigeria due to the shortage of cash, according to a cross-section of P.O.S operators and traders.
Payout limit: The CBN said the over-the-counter payout approved is subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000.
- “While reiterating our commitment to Nigerians to ensure the effective distribution of the newly introduced Naira banknotes, we urge them to exercise patience as the CBN is working assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs.
- “In line with this resolve, the Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to commence the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000.
The Central Bank also urged Nigerians to embrace and adopt other payment channels for their transactions, citing that the Naira is Nigeria’s legal tender and symbol of national pride which should be respected and handled with care.
They said: “We have equally noticed the queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country and an upward trend in the cases of people stocking and aggregating the newly introduced banknotes they serially obtain from ATMs for reasons best known to them. Also problematic are the reported cases of unregistered persons and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN. We wish to state unequivocally that, contrary to the practice of these unpatriotic persons, it is unlawful to sell the Naira, hurl (spray), or stamp on the currency under any circumstance whatsoever.
