Cash withdrawals via automated teller machines rose sharply across Nigeria in the first half of 2025, reinforcing the country’s deep reliance on physical cash despite increased transaction fees introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
New figures from the apex bank show that Nigerians withdrew ₦36.34 trillion from ATMs between January and June 2025, marking a dramatic jump from the ₦12.21 trillion recorded during the same period in 2024. The surge highlights how recent cost adjustments have failed to curb cash usage among households and businesses.
Beyond value, transaction frequency also expanded significantly. ATM withdrawals climbed to 858.8 million transactions within the six-month window, up from 496.47 million withdrawals a year earlier. This sharp rise suggests that consumer behaviour remained largely unchanged even after the introduction of higher fees.
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the spike followed a revised ATM pricing structure rolled out in March 2025. Under the framework, customers using another bank’s ATM are charged ₦100 per ₦20,000 withdrawal, while transactions on offsite machines attract additional fees that can reach ₦500 per transaction, depending on location.
Quarterly data show that cash withdrawals gained momentum as the year progressed. In the first quarter alone, ATM withdrawals reached ₦15.97 trillion, nearly three times the ₦5.46 trillion posted in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Activity intensified in the second quarter, with withdrawals rising further to ₦20.36 trillion, compared to ₦6.75 trillion a year earlier.
Monthly figures also reveal a consistent upward trend. Withdrawals increased steadily from ₦4.81 trillion in January to ₦5.40 trillion in February and ₦5.76 trillion in March. The second quarter peaked in May at ₦7.44 trillion, before easing slightly to ₦6.55 trillion in June, indicating sustained demand for cash access.
The continued surge has attracted criticism from labour unions and civil society groups, who argue that higher ATM charges disproportionately affect low-income Nigerians. Some advocacy organisations have taken legal action against the policy, describing it as punitive at a time of rising living costs.
Banking industry stakeholders, however, maintain that the revised fees reflect growing operational expenses and infrastructure maintenance challenges. While acknowledging public discomfort, they argue that the adjustments are necessary to keep ATM networks functional and secure nationwide.
Interestingly, the ATM growth comes alongside rapid expansion in digital payments. Point-of-sale transactions rose to ₦147.2 trillion in the first half of 2025, yet the rate of growth in ATM withdrawals outpaced electronic channels, signalling that cash still plays a dominant role in daily economic activity.
The data underscores a critical challenge for Nigeria’s cashless policy ambitions: even with higher costs and expanding digital alternatives, millions of Nigerians continue to rely on ATMs as their primary gateway to money.
