The House of Representatives on Thursday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the cashless policy announced on Tuesday.
Lawmakers in the lower legislative chamber said the policy would lead to a significant decrease in credit extension by Nigerian money deposit banks.
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The lawmakers also said the policy will have negative impacts on small and medium enterprises “which are clearly the engine room for growth of the economy.
CBN said it re-introduced the cashless policy to enhance the efficiency of the Nigerian payments system.
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It directed all deposit money banks in the country to charge 3% processing fees for withdrawals and 2% for deposits of amounts above N500, 000 for individual accounts.
Corporate account holders will be charged 5% processing fees for withdrawals and 3% for deposits of amounts above N3 million.
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The policy, which commenced with immediate effect in six states, is in addition to the already existing charges on withdrawals.
It applied to Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Rivers states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Nationwide implementation is expected to take effect from March 31, 2020.
