The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed the restriction on cash deposits and raised the weekly cash withdrawal limit across all banking channels to N500,000, up from the previous N100,000.
The apex bank announced the changes in a circular to all financial institutions titled “Revised Cash-Related Policies”, signed by Dr. Rita Sike, Director of the Financial Policy & Regulation Department.
The circular stated: “Effective January 1, 2026, the following cash-related policies, which are for mandatory compliance by all deposit-taking financial institutions in Nigeria, shall apply nationwide:
“Limit on deposit and associated fee on excess deposit the cumulative deposit limit is hereby removed and the fee for excess deposit shall no longer apply.
“Cumulative weekly withdrawal limit: The cumulative weekly withdrawal limit across all channels shall be N1500,000 for individuals and N5 million for corporations. Cumulative weekly withdrawals above these limits shall attract excess withdrawal fees as indicated in below.
“Exceptional Authorisation for Cash Withdrawal: The special authorisation for withdrawal of N85 million and & N10 million once monthly by individuals and corporates, respectively, shall no longer apply”.
On the Automated Teller Machine Withdrawal Limit, the circular stated: “Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawal limit shall be N100,000 daily (per customer), subject to a maximum of N8500,000 weekly.
“As indicated in above, cash withdrawals from ATMs and point of sale devices are part of the weekly withdrawal limit indicated therein”.
Also the circular said “Excess cash withdrawals (withdrawals above the levels indicated above) shall attract fees of 3 percent and 5 percent to individual and corporate customers, respectively, on the excess amount withdrawn. The fee shall be shared 40 percent to the CBN and 60 percent to the bank or financial institution.
“Denominations to be loaded in ATMs: All currency denominations may be loaded in ATMs”.
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On the limit of encashment of Third-Party Cheques, the circular said, “The limit on over-the-counter encashment of 3rd party cheques is retained at 4100,000. Account holders are advised that any withdrawal under this section will form part of the cumulative weekly set above.
“Reporting Banks shall render the following monthly returns (in a format to be advised) to the respective supervisory departments (Banking Supervision Department, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department and Payments System Supervision Department) as applicable.
“The following accounts/entities are exempted from the application of sections 2 and 5 of this circular: “Revenue generating accounts of federal, state, and local governments; and; Accounts of microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks with commercial and non-interest banks.
“The exemption of embassies, diplomatic missions and aid-donor agencies from specific cash policies shall no longer apply.”
Tracing the background to the policy change, the apex bank stated: “As part of efforts to moderate the rising cost of cash management, address security concerns, and reduce the potential for money laundering associated with the economy’s heavy reliance on cash, the Central Bank of Nigeria implemented several cash-related policies.
“These policies, issued over the years in response to evolving circumstances in cash management, sought to reduce cash usage and encourage accelerated adoption of other payment options, particularly electronic payment channels. With the effluxion of time, the need has arisen to streamline the provisions of these policies to reflect present-day realities”.
