The Central Bank of Nigeria has changed its cash rules, removing the limit on how much money people can deposit and increasing the weekly withdrawal limit to N500,000, up from the previous N100,000.
The Central Bank announced the new policy in a circular sent to all financial institutions, titled “Revised Cash-Related Policies” and signed by Dr. Rita Sike, Director of Financial Policy and Regulation.
According to the document, the bank said the changes were introduced to reduce the rising cost of handling physical cash, improve security, and close loopholes that enable money-laundering in Nigeria’s heavily cash-dependent economy.
The CBN explained that while previous cash rules were meant to encourage Nigerians to embrace electronic payments, changing economic realities made an update necessary.
Starting January 1, 2026, the new circular introduces key changes: the limit on how much cash you can deposit has been removed, and all extra fees once charged for exceeding those old deposit limits are now scrapped.
The bank also introduced a new weekly withdrawal limit of N500,000 for individuals and N5 million for companies, covering all channels. Withdrawals beyond these limits will attract extra fees based on the updated rules.
Additionally, the previous special monthly approval that allowed individuals to withdraw N5 million and businesses N10 million once a month has been completely removed.
Customers can still withdraw only up to N100,000 per day from ATMs, and no more than N500,000 in a week. These ATM withdrawals count toward the overall weekly cash-out limit across ATMs, POS terminals, and other channels.
The CBN stated that any cash withdrawal above the approved limits will attract extra charges—3% for individuals and 5% for organisations. These fees will be shared, with 40% going to the CBN and 60% to the bank or financial institution handling the transaction.
Banks have also been directed to keep ATMs supplied with all available currency denominations. In addition, the cap on over-the-counter withdrawals using third-party cheques remains N100,000, and this amount will continue to count toward each customer’s weekly withdrawal limit.
Furthermore, deposit money banks must file monthly compliance reports with the relevant supervisory departments, including Banking Supervision, Other Financial Institutions Supervision, and Payments System Supervision.
The circular also stated that the updated rules do not affect revenue-collection accounts used by federal, state, or local governments. Accounts owned by microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks and held with commercial or non-interest banks remain exempt as well.
However, the earlier exemptions given to embassies, diplomatic missions, and donor agencies have now been removed.