*ATMs dry up, PoS operators hike charges
Despite assurances by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that cash in circulation has hit N3.4trillion and repeated statements by the apex bank on the availability of the domestic currency, reports show that cash scarcity has persisted in most parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
Visits to several Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) show machines that are not dispensing cash.
The few machines that could be seen dispensing can only dispense N10,000 or in some cases N20,000 per ATM card.
Also, customers were limited to N10,000 over the counter cash withdrawals from the banking halls while some banks were totally out of cash.
Some of the tier one bank branches visited had no cash available as they said they are waiting cash, while those that have, rationed the available cash to N10,000 per customer whether for individual or corporate entity.
Yet Point of Sales (POS) operators have hiked their cash charges for cash withdrawals.
Previously, charges on N10,000 withdrawal were pegged at N200, which has now been jerked up to N300.
An operator who does not want to be named said he had not been able to source enough cash to give to his customers.
The operator said he normally gets his cash from petrol stations, and at other times from the banks. However, for the past few days, he has not been able to get cash from his usually dependable sources hence he had to increase the charges on the small amount of cash he manages to get.
“The petrol station where I normally get cash have been unable to give me cash for some days now, they told me that customers have been paying with their cards or transfers so I have been unable to get cash from them.
“They are also looking for cash the same way I am also looking for cash. I can’t go to the banks to get cash because they don’t even have. Some of my customers that came to me also confirmed that they were unable to get cash from the ATM or from banking halls,” he said.