By Kolawole Ojebisi
Starting from today, Saturday, March 1, 2025, commercial banks nationwide will commence charging N100 for transactions on their Automated Teller Machines on Saturday (today).
This move is said to be in compliance to the guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The apex bank released the revised ATM transaction fees in a circular dated February 10, 2025.
Under the revised fee structure, withdrawals from one’s bank ATMs will remain free of charge.
However, customers using ATMs of other banks will be subjected to a charge of N100 per withdrawal of N20,000 or less at on-site ATMs, which are located within or directly affiliated with a bank branch.
Off-site ATMs, which are positioned outside bank premises such as shopping malls, fuel stations, and other public spaces, will attract an additional surcharge of up to N500 per transaction.
For international ATM withdrawals, charges will be based on cost recovery, meaning customers will bear the exact fee applied by the international acquirer.
CBN later revealed that Nigerians withdrawing less than N20,000 from another bank’s ATM will still q charged a fee of N100 per transaction.
The decision of the apex bank, which it said was on the back of “rising cost and the need to improve the efficiency of ATM services in the banking industry,” has been met with opposition in multiple quarters.
Recall that on Monday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project sued CBN “over the failure to reverse the patently unlawful, unfair, unreasonable and unjust increase in Automated Teller Machine transaction fees.”
Earlier, SERAP urged the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to use his “leadership position to immediately withdraw the unjust increase in ATM transaction fees.”
SERAP urged him to “ensure that the exercise of CBN statutory powers and functions does not inflict misery on poor Nigerians and contribute to human rights abuses.”
In the suit number FHC/L/CS/344/2025 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP asked the court to determine “whether the decision by the CBN to increase ATM transaction fees is not arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable, and contrary to the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.”
Also, a Techpreneur, Tope Dare, has warned that the CBN’s decision will hurt low-income Nigerians while benefiting wealthier individuals.
“This policy ultimately favours those who can afford to withdraw larger sums, while the average Nigerian, who withdraws in smaller amounts, bears the brunt.
“For many low-income earners and small business owners, withdrawing N5,000 or N10,000 at a time is a daily necessity. Now, they face unfair charges that wealthier Nigerians can easily avoid,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Acting Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, John Onoja, has urged banks to ensure that their customers have access to cash at their ATMs to avoid incurring ATM transaction charges.
