CBN Imposes N150, 000 Cheque Withdrawal Limit Nationwide

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that it will from June 1, implement a policy that places N150,000 limit on all over-the-counter cheque withdrawals in commercial banks, microfinance banks and primary mortgage institutions (PMIs) nationwide.

Dipo Fatokun, director, Banking and Payment System, of the apex bank in a circular to  stakeholders, said the policy is in recognition of the success recorded in Lagos.

Besides, Fatokun, said the need to extend such success to other states within the federation necessitated the new regime.

The director also said that  the Lagos success story has also contributed to the reduction of fraud on cheques and aided the National Financial Inclusion (NFI) Strategy.

“All banks are therefore directed to ensure that implementation of N150,000 limit on third party cheques that could be cashed over the counter nationwide , with effect from June 1, 2013,” the statement added

Also, the CBN Director, directed banks to stop charging their customers payments for third party cheque below N150,000 cashed over the counter.

“All banks are hereby directed to stop charging their customers for third party cheques of up to N150,000 cashed over the counter,” he said. He explained that the policy is in recognition of the CBN role in the development of an efficient payment and settlement system that is well modernized.

Mr. Chidi Umeano, head, Shared Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  had said that the cashless project has continued to record huge success, adding that the initial challenges associated with the alternative channels are being tackled.

 “Banks have continued to roll out more innovative electronic payment platforms to meet customers’ expectations. The cashless policy has been very successful in Lagos considering when we started and how far we have gone in terms of PoS deployment. “When we started the cashless Lagos, we had less than 10,000 PoS in Lagos, but currently we have over 150,000 PoS machines in the state alone,” he said.