Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Relative ease has returned to the country as Nigerians have begun to get cash at automated teller machines (ATMs) and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, Business Post gathered on Monday.
Nigerians had to contend with a 30-50 per cent markup and N2,000 daily limit to get money at the agent bankers’ shops and N5,000-N10,000 at the ATMs and banking halls following a cash redesign and cashless policy drive of the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
But the new development has seen more cash in the system.
Recall that the Supreme Court judgement of March 3, 2023, extended the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes as legal tender currency up till December 31, 2023, after many Nigerians and businesses suffered from the resultant cash crunch.
This came after over 15 state governments convinced the apex court to reverse the policy, with Justice Emmanuel Agim saying the correct process had not been followed.
“The directive given by President is invalid. Such directive is not just handed down after personal conversation with the governor of CBN,” he said.
The court also berated President Muhammadu Buhari for not obeying a previous provisional order to halt the policy until it decided the case. It said there was nothing to show that President Buhari’s directive for the release of old N200 until April 10 was implemented.
It wasn’t until March 13 that the decision was given the official go-ahead by the CBN, a day after President Buhari absolved himself of the delay in implementing the apex court ruling.
In the latest development, many Nigerians are finding solace as more cash becomes available, especially at the grassroots, where the policy was largely felt.
Speaking to our reporter, a POS agent, identified simply as Ruth, said she has to slash the cost of charges as money became available to them at the banks, eliminating the hoops they had to jump through during the peak of the cashless policy of the CBN.
Business Post gathered that although the rate was not the same as pre-policy, it was considerably milder than it was before. The base sums of N1,000 and N2,000 now go for N100 from N300 and N500 previously, while the sum of N5,000 now has a fee of N200 compared to N1,000 while operators now charge N500 for N10,000 versus N2,000 they earlier collected.
According to Boluwatife, an animator, “It is better now than before; at least now, we can get cash, and it is so much better than before. I have been managing the one with me, but unlike before, it is better.”
This was echoed by Oluwaranti, a marketer, who said, “In my area in Aguda, it is getting better because the charges have reduced drastically,” quoting figures that align with that of Business Post.
It is expected that as more cash gets into the system, the hardships faced by Nigerians will further reduce, and normalcy will return even as the policy aimed at taming inflation, kidnapping, counterfeiting, and vote-buying yielded little to no return.
