The news
- In a memo dated December 11, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all banks, other financial institutions, and non-bank financial institutions to suspend the processing fees on large deposits.
- This development affects large deposits of over ₦500,000 for individual accounts and ₦3,000,000 for corporate accounts. The policy on other charges remains unchanged.
- The apex bank referenced another circular, “Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions,” released on December 20, 2019, where it originally imposed these fees
Before now, deposits over these thresholds saw processing charges of 2% for individuals and 3% for corporates. But effective immediately, the CBN has suspended these fees. This suspension will hold until April 30, 2024.
“Consequently, all financial institutions regulated by the CBN should accept all cash deposits from the public without any charge going forward.“ The memo, signed by the Acting Director of Supervision, Dr Adetona Adedej, said.
This considerable shift in policy will see financial institutions in Nigeria losing all revenue they previously made from these charges. The public, on the other hand, will benefit from freely depositing any amount in their individual or corporate accounts.
This move will impact the country positively, especially small and large businesses. It will also encourage the public to keep their money with financial institutions, thereby ensuring compliance with its cashless policy.
This directive is also being perceived as a way for the CBN to get in front of the recent news of cash scarcity at bank counters, ATMs, and PoS.
Meanwhile, in June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced transaction caps for contactless payments. It released a circular defining daily transaction limits of ₦15,000 and cumulative caps of ₦50,000.
Higher-value contactless payments that surpass these limits must be subject to proper verification and authorisation.
Besides, in May 2023, the CBN revoked the licences of 132 microfinance banks.
It also revoked the licences of another 47 microfinance banks for reasons related to not operating according to the guidelines under which their licences were issued.
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