nigerian banks raise ATM daily withdrawal limits

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country before now permitted only a withdrawal limit of N100,000 daily, but recently some banks have increased that amount to N150,000 daily. NigerianEYE gathered that Diamond Bank informed its customers that it has increased the withdrawal limit, but did not give reasons for its action. Findings showed that other banks, including GTBank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) and implement the new benchmark, sometimes on request. Many bank customers welcomed the move, saying it would not only save them time from visiting ATMs’ frequently, but also reduce the commission they pay for cash withdrawals, which is tied to the number of transactions. Some said they believed that banks should set even higher withdrawal limits. A customer, Michael Obinna, said the increased limit gives him more opportunity not to queue in banking halls trying to withdraw huge cash, adding that banks can actually raise the limits further, as security of the device is improving. Another customer, Biodun Aremu, said ATM has reduced the cost of banking operations, urging banks to drop the N100 charge by some banks on other lenders’ cards. He said deducting excessive charges on use of ATMs diminishes the gains of the device. Findings showed that the action, became exigent after the introduction of chip and pin payment cards which drastically reduced fraud in electronic payments. The cards, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said, have led to 99 per cent drop in ATM card related fraud. The CBN said it has assisted in the building secured technology that makes it difficult for fraudsters to hack into customers’ transactions, especially with the migration to EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) which are more secured platform needed to prevent frauds. Its Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo, who spoke on the sideline at a seminar organised by the Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) in Lagos, said the bank and other relevant institutions have been able to reduce card fraud drastically. “The ATM Fraud Prevention Group convened earlier this year, has successfully driven down ATM fraud incidences by 99 per cent. It has enabled the introduction of the more secure chip and pin cards, versus the magnetic stripe cards that were formerly used in the industry. The success of this group, has demonstrated practically what can be achieved as an industry when we work together to address issues, for the good of the system and the public at large,” he said.