Naira rationing continues but ATM queues disappear
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Naira rationing by banks has continued despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) having supplied more cash to them since last weekend.
Some banks in parts of Lagos pay N10,000 to customers through ATM per day, others pay N40,000 over the counter.
Stanbic IBTC Bank pays N10,000 through ATM and N20,000 over the counter. First Bank pays N40,000 via ATM.
Most bank branches in major cities received cash ranging from N10 million to N15 million from their head office week ending March 24, an increase of about 1,000 per cent compared with an average N1 million per week earlier in March.
Some banks do no longer enforce CBN cash withdrawal limits although there is rationing in branches where withdrawal is high.
“My branch received N15 million over the weekend. We did not open on the weekend but today we allowed customers to withdraw any amount and the N15 million has been exhausted. But we are expecting cash supply tomorrow,” a bank official told Vanguard.
However, some bank customers expressed dissatisfaction with their inability to withdraw as much cash as they desire, stressing the amount paid is not adequate for their immediate needs.
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Inadequate payments
A Point of Sales (PoS) operator, who moaned about the inadequacy of the amount a bank paid to her, disclosed she was directed to another branch which they said had more cash but she could not go due to the long distance.
“The CBN should direct the banks to pay PoS agents more to ease cash-in cash-out transactions,” she advocated, per Vanguard.
Uwa Osaponwa, another bank customer, said the N2,000 dispensed by her bank was not enough for payments she would make that day, and she was forced to borrow.
“All the Point of Sale agents in my area have shut down business because of this scarcity of cash,” she lamented.
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