Banks Restricting Withdrawal Below N20,000 Will be Sanctioned
The CBN has threatened to sanction any bank limiting its ATM withdrawals to lower than N20,000 per transaction for non-compliance.
The directive was outlined in a document addressing concerns about the newly revised ATM withdrawal fees.
The CBN in a circular to banks and other financial institutions, the CBN said,
“ATM Transaction Fees On-Us for customers withdrawing at the ATM of the customer’s financial institution in Nigeria with No charge.
“Not-On-Us for withdrawal from another institution’s ATM in Nigeria; On-site ATMs will attract a charge of N100 per N20,000 withdrawal.
“Off-site ATMs will attract a charge of N100 plus a surcharge of not more than N500 per N20,000 withdrawal.
“Off-site ATMs will attract a charge of N100 plus a surcharge of not more than N500 per N20,000 withdrawal.
“The surcharge, which is an income of the ATM deployer/acquirer, shall be disclosed at the point of withdrawal to the consumer.
“International Withdrawals (per transaction) whether debit/credit card: Cost Recovery – exact charge by international acquirer.
“Furthermore, the three free monthly withdrawals allowed for Remote-On-Us (other bank’s customers/Not-On-Us consumers) in Nigeria under Section 10.6.2 of the Guide shall no longer apply.”
The CBN announced earlier this week that from March 1st, a fee of N100 will charged per N20,000 withdrawal made from on-site ATMs of other banks.
“The fees are based on banks allowing customers to withdraw up to N20,000 per transaction. Any bank that compels a customer with sufficient funds in his/her account to withdraw less than N20,000 per transaction against the customer’s desire for a higher sum would be contravening this regulation’s spirit and sanctioned appropriately.
“Consumers that are denied the right to withdraw up to N20,000 per transaction are encouraged to file a complaint with the CBN using cpd@cbn.gov.ng.”
The Apex bank released a Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) document addressing the concerns over the ATM limit and clarifying the new policy.
The CBN emphasized that the revised charges apply only when banks allow customers to withdraw up to N20,000 per transaction. It also stated that while banks cannot charge more than the stipulated fees, they have the discretion to charge lower amounts based on their cost structure.
“The charges and surcharges are capped. Thus, banks and other financial institutions are not allowed to charge more than the fees prescribed in the circular.
“Note also that though the surcharge per transaction is capped, there is flexibility for a bank to charge a lower amount depending on its cost structure and business development drive.
To avoid paying ATM transaction fees, the apex bank said: “You should withdraw money from your bank’s ATM (On-Us transaction) to avoid the transaction fees.
“Additionally, limiting your use of off-site ATMs is advisable to minimize the surcharge.
