Customers will, from March 1, 2025, start paying more for withdrawals from other banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) following a new directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank, in a circular signed by its Acting Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, John Onojah, dated February 10, 2025, noted that ATM withdrawals within the same bank would remain free.
The CBN stated that an ATM withdrawal of N20,000 by a customer using another bank’s ATM on the bank’s premises would attract a charge of N100, while withdrawals from an off-site ATM (not located on a bank’s premises) would be charged N600.
The directive stated:
“On-Us transactions (customers withdrawing from the ATM of their own financial institution) in Nigeria will attract no charge.
“For Not-On-Us transactions (withdrawals from another financial institution’s ATM) in Nigeria:
– On-site ATMs: A charge of N100 per N20,000 withdrawal.
– Off-site ATMs: A charge of N100 plus a surcharge of not more than N500 per N20,000 withdrawal, which is an income for the ATM deployer/acquirer and shall be disclosed to the customer at the point of withdrawal.
“International withdrawals (per transaction), whether using a debit or credit card, will be charged based on cost recovery—the exact charge applied by the international acquirer.”
The CBN said the implementation of the policy was in response to rising costs and the need to improve the efficiency of ATM services in the banking industry. It stated that the policy aligns with Section 10.7 of the extant CBN Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, 2020 (the Guide).
Noting that the last review was in 2019, when the withdrawal fee was reduced from N65 to N35, the CBN stated that the latest review “is expected to accelerate the deployment of ATMs and ensure that appropriate charges are applied by financial institutions to consumers of the service.”
It, therefore, urged financial institutions to comply with the new directive ahead of the implementation date.