A Polaris Bank branch in the Abakpakpa area of Benin City, Edo State, prevents non-users from withdrawing more than N10,000 via the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

FIJ gathered that a security man said Polaris customers could get up to N50,000 but non-customers could only get a maximum of N10,000.

“This bank staff walks up to users to monitor their transactions,” a source, who does not want to be named, told FIJ on Monday morning.

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“A man took offence and questioned how close the security officer was, and the guy said he was making sure the user wasn’t taking more than N10,000. At a point, he said, ‘If you wan withdraw enough, go your bank. First Bank is not far.'”

FIJ understands that barring non-Polaris customers from not getting more than N10,000 via ATM withdrawals violates a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy.

In a document on the revised cash withdrawal limits issued in December 2022, the CBN pegged the maximum ATM withdrawal per day to N20,000.

FIJ’s source revealed that he had gone to the area to withdraw cash when he noted this development. After withdrawing his first N10,000, he ran another transaction only to find that the bank had programmed its machine to reject payments above that amount to other banks.

“Once it dispenses N5,000, which is the single limit, twice, it rejects further withdrawal requests. It, however, can go up to N50,000 (N5,000 ten times) for Polaris customers,” said the source.

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When FIJ contacted Michelle Agoh, Polaris Bank’s communications officer, via phone call on Monday, she did not state whether the branch was doing the right thing by limiting withdrawals from non-Polaris cards. She asked that FIJ send the name of the branch.

“We will send an email to the branch’s director of operations to find out what is going on and get back to you,” Agoh said.

This is not the first time Nigerian banks will be violating orders by the CBN.

In the first quarter of 2023, the apex bank directed all commercial banks to open on weekends to permit over-the-counter withdrawals in order to tackle the cash scarcity biting hard on Nigerians at the time. However, FIJ found that some banks failed to comply in Lagos State.