The Federal Government has dismissed claims that Nigerians are restricted to spending only ₦500,000 per day through bank cards, saying no such limit exists under Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations.
The clarification was issued on Monday by the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, following widespread reactions to a claim by social critic Daniel Regha that the CBN had imposed a ₦500,000 cap on card usage in Nigeria.
Olusegun explained that the policy being referenced does not apply to total card spending but to cash withdrawals and certain transaction thresholds designed to curb fraud and strengthen the banking system.
According to him, the CBN policy in question was first made public on December 2, 2025, and focuses mainly on ATM cash withdrawals and some Point of Sale (POS) transactions.
“There is no ₦500,000 cap on total card payments in Nigeria,” Olusegun said in a post on X. “What exists is a limit on ATM cash withdrawals and certain POS or card transaction thresholds. These measures are for risk management, fraud prevention, and system integrity, not to restrict legitimate spending.”
He stressed that Nigerians remain free to make card payments above ₦500,000 for legitimate transactions, whether online or in physical stores, provided the transactions comply with standard banking and security protocols.
The clarification comes amid growing public confusion over CBN’s cashless policy framework, which includes daily limits on cash withdrawals from ATMs and over-the-counter banking services.
Recall that the CBN had, last year, released a policy document outlining new thresholds on ATM and POS cash withdrawals as part of efforts to reduce cash-based transactions and improve financial transparency.
However, the Federal Government’s latest statement makes it clear that these measures do not amount to a restriction on how much Nigerians can spend using their bank cards.
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