Banks dispense cash on Saturday — but maintain withdrawal limits

In line with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), commercial banks dispensed cash to their customers on Saturday.

On Friday, the apex bank said it had evacuated banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country.

The CBN also directed all banks to open for operation on Saturday and Sunday to “attend to customers’ cash needs”. 

The apex bank’s directive came after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to embark on a strike from Wednesday, over the protracted cash shortage in the country.

Hours after the CBN issued the order on Friday, major banks asked their customers, via email, to visit their branches at the weekend for cash withdrawals.

While some banks said only certain branches would be open to customers, others stated that all branches would be in operation.

Checks by TheCable on Saturday show that some commercial banks in Lagos provided withdrawal services.

At the Lotus Bank branch at Akowonjo road, Egbeda, TheCable observed that customers were paid over the counter, with a N20,000 cap. 

At the time of the visit, Stanbic IBTC bank branches at Abule Ado and Oshodi paid a maximum of N20,000 over the counter and N10,000 via automated teller machines (ATMs) to their customers.

At the Abule Ado branch of a bank, a teller told TheCable that the branch was solely opened for withdrawal services. 

“We are only open for withdrawal services and so, customer service is not available. Customers will have to come on Monday for that,” she said.  

Asked why there was a withdrawal limit, she said the mechanism was deployed to ensure that all customers were attended to.

Zenith Bank and Access Bank branches at Oshodi also dispensed cash to their customers. 

‘WE DO NOT HAVE CASH IN OUR VAULT’

However, TheCable observed that some bank branches did not pay customers despite the presence of staff members in the banking halls.

At some branches at Abule Ado and Akowonjo, there were no withdrawal services. 

“They have not brought cash for the past few days. We are still expecting it,” a security guard said. 

He also claimed to have received orders from his superiors to enquire if customers wanted to make deposits so as to enable the bank to recirculate the cash to others. 

But it turned out that no one in the crowd was willing to make deposits. 

“I am very disappointed. I have been here since 5am and this man (the security officer) is just coming out now to pass this information,” a customer, who had distributed numbers to customers, said.