Nigeria’a apex bank suspends charges on large cash deposits

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has placed on hold charges on cash deposits above the regulatory limits of N500,000 for individuals and N3,000,000 for corporate account holders.

The new directive comes against a backdrop of increasing cash shortages and empty ATMs around the country.

The CBN also stressed that the suspension of the deposit charges will last till April 30 next year.

This was contained in a statement titled ‘Re-Processing Fees on Cash Deposit’ by Ag. Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Dr. Adetona Adedeji.

It read: “Please recall the processing charges imposed on cash deposits above N500,000 for Individuals and N3,000,000 for corporates as contained in the “Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions and NonBank Financial institutions’ issued on December 20, 2019, under reference FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/07/042.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, hereby, suspends the charging of processing fees of 2% and 3%, previously charged on all cash deposits above these thresholds with immediate effect. This suspension shall remain in effect until April 30, 2024.

“Consequently, all financial institutions regulated by the CBN should accept all cash deposits from the public without any charges going forward.”

Recall that the CBN, in September 2019, introduced bank charges on customers making cash deposits and withdrawals. It said the objective was to reduce cash use.

Also, in 2022, the apex bank directed that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals not exceed N100,000 per week. While corporate entities were limited to N500,000.