Nigeria has imposed limits on cash withdrawals in a move to push consumers towards alternatives, including its own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the eNaira. In a letter to banks and other financial institutions published on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) applied new limits on over-the-counter withdrawals at just ₦100,000 ($225) per week for individuals and ₦500,000 ($1,123) for businesses. Taking cash out of ATMs will be capped at ₦20,000 ($45) per day, with only ₦200 ($0.45) notes and smaller denominations being available from the machines. Customers will still be able to take out larger sums in some instances but will have to pay processing fees of between 5% and 10%. The move was justified in the letter as being in line with “the Cashless policy of the CBN.” The central bank’s director of Banking Supervision Haruna B. Mustafa wrote that customers “should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.” – Source.

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