Cloud Network Foundation (CNF), a leading civil tech advocacy group, has urged the Federal Government to review the new ATM withdrawal charges recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for the purposes of its suspension in view of the negative socioeconomic implications for ordinary Nigerians.
The CBN a few days ago directed banks and other financial institutions to be charging customers N100 for every N20,000 withdrawn from an ATM operated by a bank other than their own while withdrawals from ATMs of a customer’s bank will remain free of charge.
For withdrawals from off-site ATMs, that is, those located outside bank premises, customers will not only pay the N100 per N20,000 withdrawal fee but may also be subjected to an additional surcharge of up to N500.
According to the apex bank, such surcharge will be retained by the ATM deployer or acquirer and must be disclosed at the point of withdrawal.
Additionally, the CBN stated that international ATM withdrawals will attract charges at the rate set by the international acquirer.
The apex bank justified these new charges by citing increasing operational costs and the need to improve ATM service efficiency
Responding to the revised ATM charges on the order of the CBN, Chairman of CNF, Mr. Abimbola Tooki, in a statement condemned the monetary policy and urged the Federal Government to prevail of tbe CBN to suspend the new charges.
He stated: “If the federal government continues to approve policies that increase the burden on the masses, one wonders which government agency will be next to introduce yet another round of charges.”
The tech industry analyst maintained that rather than passing excessive costs onto consumers, the government should focus on creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
According to him, by reducing regulatory bottlenecks and addressing operational challenges faced by service providers, the government can ensure that businesses remain profitable without shifting the financial burden onto already overburdened Nigerians.
In view of the prevailing economic hardships of millions of ordinary Nigerians, the CFN chief is calling on the Federal Government to prioritize policies that ease the cost of doing business in order to reduce financial stress on business owners and ordinary citizens.
Tooki pointed out that instead of continuously approving price hikes across essential services like banking, telecommunications, fuel, and electricity, the government should focus on stabilizing the economy and improving the purchasing power of consumers.
The civil tech group warned that unless urgent measures were taken to cushion the financial burden on citizens, Nigeria’s economic situation will continue to deteriorate, pushing more of Nigerians down the poverty trap.
