Central Bank of Nigeria said banks would no longer allow their customers with domiciliary accounts to do more than $5,000 to $10,000 cash transfer.
According to a circular from the apex bank, the maximum limit for foreign currency transfers by cash deposits is now $5,000 per month.
It said, “This means that only a maximum of $5,000 monthly will be allowed for transfers if the source of funds is a cash deposit into a domiciliary account.
“Cash deposits of foreign currencies other than USD may be paid into domiciliary accounts (subject to an equivalent of $5,000 monthly limit) but will not be allowed for transfer purposes.”
It was learnt that this was in accordance with a 2020 circular of the CBN. A portion of the circular said, “Ordinary Domiciliary Accounts: Where accounts are funded by electronic/wire transfer, account holders will be allowed unfettered and unrestricted use of these funds for eligible transactions. Where accounts are funded by cash lodgments, existing regulation will continue to apply.”
However, a source in another bank told one of our correspondents that the transfer limit was $10,000.
Already, a few numbers of commercial banks in Nigeria have started placing new limits on transfers of domiciliary accounts holders.
According to a statement from one of the banks, the maximum limit for foreign currency transfers by cash deposits is now $5,000 per month.
“This means that only a maximum of $5,000 monthly will be allowed for transfers if the source of funds is a cash deposit into a domiciliary account.
“Cash deposits of foreign currencies other than USD may be paid into domiciliary accounts (subject to an equivalent of $5,000 monthly limit) but will not be allowed for transfer purposes,” the statement stated.
The statement added that: “Ordinary Domiciliary Accounts: Where accounts are funded by electronic/wire transfer, account holders will be allowed unfettered and unrestricted use of these funds for eligible transactions. Where accounts are funded by cash lodgments, existing regulation will continue to apply.”
Also, a source in another bank disclosed that the transfer limit was $10,000, saying that cash lodgment of up to $10,000 cannot be transferred electronically to another account but can only be withdrawn through cash.
The source noted that there was no daily limit of dollars that a person could deposit in the account, adding that when huge amount of dollar deposit is made, it must also be withdrawn by cash.
The source said: “There is no law stopping anybody from lodging more than $5,000 or $10,000 into your account in cash. But what you need to note is that if you lodge more than $10,000 into your account, you cannot transfer that money, you can only withdraw that same cash based on availability. The bank needs to source the money to give it to you in cash.”
This implies that scarcity of foreign exchange earnings had forced the banks and the CBN to adopt a number of policies aimed at preserving limited available foreign currencies.