On 10 February, 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled a revised fee structure for ATM and Point of Sale (POS) withdrawals, effective 1 March, 2025. Nigerians now face a N100 charge for every N20,000 withdrawn from another bank’s ATM, with an additional N500 surcharge for off-site ATMs, alongside escalating POS fees.
Touted as a measure to offset operational costs and nudge the nation toward a cashless economy, this policy has instead ignited a firestorm of criticism, exposing a disconnect between the government’s economic vision and the lived realities of its citizens.
The backlash against the charges has been swift and unrelenting. Mainstream media outlets have highlighted the policy’s regressive nature, with analysts arguing it disproportionately harms low-income Nigerians who rely on small, frequent withdrawals for daily survival. Social media platforms like X have amplified this discontent, with users decrying the charges as exploitative. One post lamented, “We’ve not finished complaining about outrageous POS charges, now N100 per ATM withdrawal—you can’t catch a break in this country.” Another warned of a “direct blow to financial inclusion,” pointing out that fees as high as N500 for off-site withdrawals punish citizens for accessing their own money.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has even taken legal action, arguing the hikes are “unfair, unreasonable, and unjust,” a view echoed widely across Nigeria.
The sentiment is clear: this is less a step toward modernization and more a revenue grab that benefits banks and the CBN at the expense of struggling Nigerians.
Let it be said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration cannot tax Nigerians into prosperity — a flawed strategy that burdens the poor while sidestepping the structural reforms needed to realize the ambitious $1 trillion economy promised under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
President Tinubu’s administration has leaned heavily on fiscal measures—subsidy removals, currency floats, and now transaction fees—to stabilize the economy. Yet, prosperity cannot be extracted from an already strained populace. Inflation hovers at 34.6%, food prices soar, and unemployment festers, yet the government’s response is to layer additional costs onto citizens rather than address the root causes of economic stagnation.
Taxing withdrawals does not inspire confidence in a cashless future; it breeds resentment and drives people toward informal systems, undermining financial inclusion efforts.
What Nigeria needs is not more taxes but a bold pivot toward re-industrialization. The Renewed Hope Agenda’s promise of a $1 trillion economy rings hollow without a thriving industrial base to create jobs and bolster the middle class.
Decades of over-reliance on oil have left manufacturing languishing, yet it is this sector — through investments in infrastructure, power, and incentives for local production—that can drive sustainable growth. Job creation would lift millions out of poverty, expand the tax base organically, and fuel consumer spending, not through punitive fees but through genuine economic activity. A robust middle class, not a burdened underclass, is the backbone of a trillion-dollar economy.
The CBN’s latest policy exemplifies a short-sighted approach that prioritizes immediate gains over long-term prosperity. President Tinubu must redirect his focus from taxing Nigerians into submission to rebuilding an industrial economy that works for all. Only then can the Renewed Hope Agenda move from rhetoric to reality.
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