The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the elimination of the three free monthly ATM withdrawals that customers previously enjoyed when using other banks' machines. The new policy takes effect March 1, 2025, as outlined in a circular dated February 10, 2025, signed by John S. Onojah, Acting Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

Under the new guidelines, customers will pay fees for every withdrawal at other banks' ATMs. While transactions at your own bank's ATM remain free, withdrawals at other banks will incur the following charges:

- On-site ATMs (within bank premises): N100 per N20,000 withdrawal

- Off-site ATMs (outside bank premises): N100 per N20,000 withdrawal plus N500 surcharge

The CBN mandates that ATM operators must disclose any surcharges to customers before withdrawal. For international ATM transactions, fees will reflect the exact amount charged by international acquirers.

This policy change comes amid shifting trends in Nigerian banking. ATM usage has declined, with active machines dropping 3.82 percent from 17,377 in late 2023 to 16,714 in mid-2024. Meanwhile, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals have seen explosive growth, increasing 127.07 percent to reach 5.56 million terminals by the end of 2024.

The CBN cited rising operational costs and the need to improve ATM efficiency as key factors behind the policy change. The bank expects these new charges to encourage financial institutions to deploy more ATMs and implement appropriate fee structures for their services.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​