The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a daily transaction limit of N100,000 per customer for cash-out transactions conducted by Point of Sale (POS) agents.
This policy was issued in a new directive issued on Tuesday, and signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo for the Director of the Payments System Management Department at the CBN.
The policy aims to streamline agency banking operations, encourage electronic payment adoption, and enhance the country’s cashless economy drive.
The circular, which was addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, and Superagents, emphasises the need for uniform operational standards, fraud prevention, and improved monitoring within the agent banking sector.
The circular outlined that POS agents must ensure no individual customer withdraws more than N100,000 daily, regardless of the channel, and that each agent’s total cash-out transactions should not exceed N1,200,000 daily.
Customers were restricted to a maximum cash withdrawal of N500,000 per week while agents were required to separate their banking services from other merchant activities and use the approved Agent Code 6010 for all transactions.
The new directive also noted that all agency banking activities must be conducted through float accounts maintained with the principal institutions and that institutions must monitor accounts linked to agents’ BVNs to identify any unauthorised banking activities outside designated float accounts.
Agents were also required to connect their terminals to the Payments Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) and send daily transaction reports to the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) electronically. The reporting template will be provided by the CBN.
The CBN reiterated that all principals remain responsible for the actions and omissions of their agents in relation to banking services.
To ensure compliance, CBN will conduct periodic oversight, including backend configuration checks.
The apex bank warned that violations of these directives will attract severe penalties, including monetary fines and administrative sanctions.
This measure underscores the CBN’s commitment to ensuring a secure, transparent, and efficient agent banking ecosystem.