Starting from January 1, 2026, Nigerians will be limited to cumulative weekly withdrawals of 500,000 naira (345 dollars) for individuals and a maximum of 5 million naira (3,450 dollars) for corporate entities. This follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s introduction of stricter withdrawal limits and the scrapping of fees on excess cash deposits, in a bid to curb cash dependency and address security and money-laundering risks.

In October this year, Nigeria and South Africa were removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of countries subject to increased monitoring for illicit money flows, after spending about two years under enhanced scrutiny.

Thami Ngubeni spoke to Shuaibu Idris, Economist and Managing Director at Time Line Consult Limited, for further insights