Nigeria’s Central Bank has removed all limits and fees on cash deposits, in its most sweeping overhaul of cash-management rules since 2022. From January 1, 2026, customers will be able to deposit any amount of cash into banks without penalties, marking a major shift away from the regulator’s previous restrictions designed to curb the economy’s heavy reliance on cash.
Under the revised rules, individuals can now withdraw up to ₦500,000 weekly, while corporates can withdraw up to ₦5 million. Withdrawals above these thresholds will attract a 3% fee for individuals and 5% for corporates, shared between the CBN (40%) and the financial institution (60%). These limits also apply to ATM withdrawals, which are capped at ₦100,000 daily and ₦500,000 weekly. All naira denominations may now be loaded into ATMs.
The directive also confirms that the ₦100,000 cap on cashing third-party cheques across the counter remains, but will now count toward a customer’s weekly withdrawal total.
This overhaul supersedes the several stringent measures introduced in 2022 stringent measures introduced in 2022, when individuals and businesses needed special authorisation and multiple documents — from valid IDs to CEO-signed letters — to withdraw ₦5 million and ₦10 million in cash once a month. Under the new policy, this exception is scrapped entirely, meaning individuals and companies can no longer withdraw those amounts in cash under any circumstance from 2026 onward.
“As part of efforts to moderate the rising cost of cash management, address security concerns, and reduce the potential for money laundering associated with the economy’s heavy reliance on cash, the Central Bank of Nigeria implemented several cash-related policies,” the regulator noted in its new directive. “With the effluxion of time, the need has arisen to streamline the provisions of these policies to reflect present-day realities.”
The CBN has also mandated banks to render monthly returns to supervisory departments on all transactions exceeding withdrawal limits and on cash deposits. Deposit Money Banks must also create separate internal ledger accounts to keep the processing charges collected on withdrawals above the limit before they are shared.
While government revenue accounts and primary mortgage banks remain exempt from the withdrawal limits and fees, the new directive notes that previous exemptions for embassies, diplomatic missions, and aid-donor agencies will no longer apply, bringing them under the new cash management regime effective January 2026.
This move is part of a wider safety net that the CBN is casting over the financial system to curb fraud and improve efficiency. Proposed guidelines targeting authorised push payment (APP) fraud require that victims report scams within 72 hours, and financial institutions, including banks and fintechs, must investigate and issue refunds within 16 working days.
