The Central Bank of Nigeria is kicking off with the implementation of its Cashless policy for deposit taking financial institutions.
According to a circular from the apex bank, charges shall apply on deposits into banks in the following locations: Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Rivers states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The charges that will apply, are as follows:
For Individual accounts, a 3% processing fee will be charged for withdrawals of amounts above N500,000, while 2% will be charged for deposits
For Corporate accounts, a 5% processing fee will be charged for withdrawals, and 3% for deposits of amounts above N3 million
According to CBN, the cashless policy was introduced for a number of key reasons, including:
- To drive development and modernization of our payment system in line with Nigeria’s vision 2020 goal of being amongst the top 20 economies by the year 2020. An efficient and modern payment system is positively correlated with economic development, and is a key enabler for economic growth.
- To reduce the cost of banking services (including cost of credit) and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.
- To improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth.
The charges take effect effective immediately and nationwide implementation will take effect as from 31 March 2020.
