BY BONNY AMADI
The benefits of financial inclusion by the central bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions may have started having its toll on bank depositors as against the backdrop of high charges by POS agents, the country’s apex bank has hiked ATM transaction charges.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction fees for banks and financial institutions, effective from March 1, 2025.
This move according to CBN in a statement signed by John S. Onojah Acting Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department aims to enhance efficiency and increase the deployment of ATMs across the country.
The circular titled “Review of Automated Teller Machine Transaction Fees”, the apex bank stated that the review aligns with Section 10.7 of the CBN Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, 2020.
The revised fees will affect both domestic and international transactions. Under the new structure, “On-Us” withdrawals—when a customer uses their own bank’s ATM—will remain free. However, on-site ATM withdrawals will attract a N100 fee for every N20, 000 withdrawn.
For “Not-On-Us” transactions, which occur when a customer withdraws from another bank’s ATM, an off-site withdrawal will be charged N100 plus a surcharge not exceeding N500 per N20,000.
The circular clarified, that “The surcharge, which is an income of the ATM deployer/acquirer, shall be disclosed at the point of withdrawal to the consumer.”
International withdrawals on both debit and credit cards will be based on a cost recovery model, meaning the exact charge imposed by the international acquirer will apply.
Additionally, the CBN has scrapped the previous provision that allowed customers three free monthly withdrawals from other banks’ ATMs.
The circular states, “The three free monthly withdrawals allowed for Remote-On-Us (other bank’s customers/Not-On-Us consumers) in Nigeria under Section 10.6.2 of the Guide shall no longer apply.”
The directive mandates all banks and financial institutions to implement these charges by the stipulated date.
The CBN believes the move will ensure fairness in ATM service costs and encourage further investments in the sector.
Meanwhile, the existing “Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions” (the Guide) provides a basis for the application of charges on various products and services offered by banks and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) in Nigeria to their customers.
These charges spelt that, Onus (withdrawal from issuing bank’s ATM) attracts No charge, Not onus (withdrawal from other bank’s ATM) in Nigeria currently attracts N65 after the third withdrawal within the same month, while International withdrawals (per transaction) whether debit/credit card, attracts “Exact cost by international acquirer (cost recovery)”.
Also, Bulk Payments (e.g. Salaries, Dividends etc) attracts Negotiable charges however subject to a maximum of N50 per beneficiary payable by the sender. SMS alert (Mandatory), however, where a customer opts not to receive sms alert, the customer should issue an indemnity (for losses that may arise as a result) to the bank.
Not more than N4/SMS. (Fees on alerts are restricted to only customer-induced transactions). All associated notifications relating to a particular transaction should be consolidated into a single SMS alert.
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