No cash supply at ATM points over scarcity of new notes
IT was hectic yesterday for Nigerians to withdraw the new naira notes from their bank accounts through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
In a bid to compel the banks to dispense the redesigned naira notes, the apex bank had threatened to slam N1 million fine on erring banks daily.
The new naira notes scarcity entered a critical stage in Lagos yesterday where ATMs stopped dispensing cash to cardholders, who thronged several banks to get cash.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters after Tuesday’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that the January 31 deadline to phase out the old N1,000, N500 and N200 remains sacrosanct.
At the Matori branches of Fidelity Bank, FirstBank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Unity Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, Sterling Bank, Globus Bank, none of the ATMs were dispensing cash.
Kareem Adigun, one of the cardholders, said he had checked at all the banks’ ATMs and none dispensed cash.
“I have checked all the ATMs in Matori to make cash withdrawal, but none of them is dispensing cash. At the banking halls, the banks are only paid old notes,” he said.
When the CBN monitoring team visited the Zenith Bank’s Epe branch, in Lagos, only one of the six ATMs was dispensing cash.
That was the only ATM working in the entire Epe, Lagos leading to a very long queue in the bank. The ATMs of other banks’ branches in Epe, including Polaris Bank and FirstBank, were not dispensing cash.
One of the cardholders, Tunde Kabir, said he has been in the branch since 10am and is yet to get cash.
“We have been here, and only one ATM is working. I am yet to make a withdrawal since morning,” he said.
“We have been here, and only one ATM is working. I am yet to make a withdrawal since morning,” he said.
Speaking during the CBN’s sensitization programme on the new naira notes in Epe, CBN Deputy Director, Moses Ademosu, said any bank that loads old notes will be sanctioned.
He said the apex bank was monitoring the ATMs to ensure compliance because the Tuesday deadline for returning old notes is sacrosanct.
“We are not going to shift the deadline to return old notes to the banks. Let the people know that there will be no extension of that deadline,” he said.
The CBN team also visited Oluwo Modern Fish Market, Epe, Lagos, and several ATMs to ensure old notes were not dispensed. They told the market leaders that the deadline for returning the old notes to the banks will not be extended
