The Central Bank of Nigeria has reviewed charges and rates for banking activities in the country.
This was disclosed in the CBN new ‘Guide to Charges by Banks Other Financial and Non-Financial,’ obtained by DAILY GIST on Saturday.
The circular stated that the review was in response to “further evolution in the financial industry in the last few years.”
The apex bank said the guideline applies to charges by Banks Other Financial and Non-Financial under its licence or regulation.
The document revealed that the CBN has reduced the charges on some transactions including Standing Order Charge (In-Branch); ATM Maninance Fees; Electronic Fund Transfers and Bulk Payments among others.
According to the apex bank, the decision, which came amid public outcry against multiplicity and value of the charges, was aimed at making financial services more accessible and affordable to various stakeholders in the economy.
In the latest guideline, CBN said standing Standing Order Charge for intra-bank will be free compared to the N300 in the 2017 guideline.
For Interbank Transfers, the CBN cut the charges to a maximum of N50 per transaction compared to the N300 held in 2017.
The CBN also reduced ATM bill payment from N100 to N50. ATM Debit card maintenance charges that were N100/month have been removed in the new guideline.
Bills Payment (Including Bills Payment through other E-channels) is Negotiable subject to a maximum of N500 per beneficiary payable by sender, a review from the N1,200 or 0.75 per cent for a biller or merchant to pay.
Electronic Funds Transfer has also been reviewed downwards to N10 charge for a transaction below N5000; N26 for transaction of N5001 to N50,000 while transactions above N50,000 will be charged N50.
Withdrawals on other banks’ ATMS have been reduced from N65 to N35 after the third withdrawal within the same month.
The CBN also reduced ATM Bill Payment from N100 to N50. Debit card maintenance charges that were N100/Month have been removed in the new guideline.
The CBN however stated that financial institutions that breach any of the provisions in the new guide would face a fine of N2,000,000 per infraction or as may be determined by the CBN from time to time.
The CBN said, ” Where a bank is found to have wrongfully imposed a particular charge on its customers, the provision of Section (i) above shall apply for the charge on each customer.
“Failure to comply with CBN’s directive in respect of any infraction shall attract a further penalty of N2,000,000 daily until the directive is complied with or as may be determined by the CBN from time to time.
“Banks are required to log every complaint received from their customers into the Consumer Complaints Management System and must generate a unique reference code for each complaint lodged, which must be given to the customer.”
