Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has brought an end to charge-free cash withdrawals from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across Nigeria.

The CBN has introduced charges on ATM withdrawals from other banks, thus ending the three free withdrawals a month that customers previously enjoyed.

This is contained in a CBN circular released on the bank’s website on Tuesday, and signed by the Acting Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, John S. Onojah.

However, customers’ withdrawals from their bank ATMs will still attract zero charges, irrespective of how many withdrawals are done in a month.

The circular reads;

“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.”

Based on the circular, these are now the revised charges.

The CBN stated in its circular that this revision is necessitated by rising operations costs for the banks, and the need to improve ATM efficiency.

The apex bank also said that this update will speed up the deployment of ATMs across Nigeria since banks will now get adequate payment for their services.

It read;

“This review is expected to accelerate the deployment of ATMs and ensure that appropriate charges are applied by financial institutions to consumers of the service. Accordingly, banks and other financial institutions are advised to apply the following fees with effect from March 1, 2025.”

Analysts say this aligns with the CBN's goals to drive digital banking and promote a cashless society.

Recall that a recent CBN report identified high bank charges to be among the issues business people struggle with in Nigeria. This was in addition to more complicated challenges like limited access to credit, high interest rates, poor infrastructure among others.

In related news, recall that the CBN also introduced N50 charges on electronic transfers which took effect in December 2024.

This includes all transactions made on digital banking platforms and applies to transactions above N10,000.

The EMTL charges were scheduled to commence on September 9, 2024, but were delayed due to opposition from Nigerians.

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Source: Legit.ng