With the yuletide fast approaching, many Nigerians are looking at the coming Christmas with a bleak hope for celebration. This is even as the commercial banks operating in most States have ran out of cash with the Automated Teller Machines, ATM, not dispensing cash.
The banks with cash have adopted withdrawal limit policy.
In Nasarawa State the policy started with most banks limiting the withdrawal limit to N40, 000. However, as the cash crunch continues, they have reduced their daily over-the-counter cash withdrawal limit to N10, 000.
This is as the banks maintained the existing N20,000 daily withdrawal limit from Automated Teller Machine, ATM. A situation that is making it difficult for customers to access funds.
In most of the banks’ branches visited in Nyanya, Abuja and Mararaba, Karu Local Government Council of Nasarawa State, the situation is frustrating.
Bank customers were seen grumbling inside the banking halls following their frustrations occasioned by the withdrawal limit policy of the banks. While most of the ATM are out of service, the few that are dispensing cash had long queues of customers.
Some bank staff approached by our correspondent who posed as a potential customer in need of cash, attributed the customers’ ordeal to inadequate cash in the banks’ vaults.
“We don’t have cash, you are passing through this because even the banks don’t have cash themselves. We are just giving out what we have in the banks, “the staff stated.
The development has also raised the Point of Sale, POS charges on cash withdrawal. The operators now charge between N200 and N250 for N5,000 withdrawal and N300 to N400 for withdrawal of N10, 000.
Similarly, to withdraw N20, 000 from POS, the operators charge N800 and N1,600 for 40,000 respectively.
And in most cases, the operators complain of shortage of cash.
One of the POS customer who identified himself as Emeka bemoaned the situation. He wondered why every December Nigerians are made to go through stress to celebrate Christmas.
Emeka, therefore, called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to make cash available to the banks to end the sufferings people are going through.
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