The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a revision of ATM withdrawal fees, set to take effect from March 1, 2025. The new charges aim to address rising operational costs and enhance banking services across the country.
In a circular signed by John Onojah, acting director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, the CBN explained that the changes were made to improve the efficiency of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services. The revised charges are outlined in Section 10.7 of the CBN Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, 2020.
According to the new policy, ATM withdrawals from a customer’s own bank will remain free. However, transactions carried out on ATMs belonging to other banks will now attract a charge of ₦100 per ₦20,000 withdrawal. Additionally, for ATMs located off-site—outside a bank’s premises—users will incur a surcharge of up to ₦500 per ₦20,000 withdrawal.
The CBN clarified that this surcharge is an income for the ATM deployer or acquirer and must be clearly displayed for customers at the point of withdrawal. Furthermore, for Nigerians making withdrawals abroad using debit or credit cards, banks will apply a cost recovery fee charged by the international acquirer.
In a significant policy shift, the three free ATM withdrawals per month previously allowed for customers using another bank’s ATM have been scrapped. The central bank stated that this decision aligns with its goal of ensuring efficient ATM deployment nationwide.
“This review is expected to accelerate the deployment of ATMs and ensure that appropriate charges are applied by financial institutions to consumers of the service,” the CBN stated in the circular.
Banks and other financial institutions have been instructed to implement these new charges starting March 1, 2025.
