Central Bank reintroduces ATM bank charges

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that Automated Teller Machines (ATM) withdrawals would attract N65 per transaction to cover remuneration for the switches, beginning from September 1.

Dipo Fatokun, director, banking and payment system department, stated this in Abuja on Thursday.

“The reintroduction of ‘Remote-On-Us’ ATM cash withdrawal transactions fee, which will be now N65 per transaction to cover the remuneration of the switches, ATM monitoring and fit-notes processing by acquiring banks,” he said.

“The new charge shall apply as from fourth ‘Remote-On-Us’ withdrawal in a month by a card holder, thereby making the first three ‘Remote-On-Us’ transactions free for the card holders, but to be paid for by the issuing bank.”

Dipo urged banks to adequately sensitize their customers on the introduction of the new fee.

He assured the public that all ATM cash withdrawal on the ATM of issuing banks would be at no cost to the card holder, recalling that the bank, in collaboration with the bankers committee, had in December 2012 transferred the payment of N100 fee on ‘Remote-On-Us’ ATM cash withdrawal transactions to issuing banks.

“This fee was shared between the acquirers, issuers and switches. On the commencement of the arrangement in December 2012, banks decided to waive the issuer fee (N35), which should have ordinarily been an income to them,” he said.

“Consequently banks only bore the cost of N65 each time their customers use another banks’ ATM.”