Nigeria Caps ATM Cash Withdrawals at $45 Daily to Push Digital Payments
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Lately hearing more and more stories about people getting de-banked, as been making me feel a little nervous.
In the cases of the banks and my business friends, I'm more worried the banks are extremely over leveraged and don't want to part with any cash (like 2008 on steroids).
Worry not because banks are actually the opposite! They have so much cash they don’t want it!
They’re still near an all time high (peaked in 2021).
This is the reason that most bank account interest rates haven’t increased despite fed rates increasing - banks don’t want to incentive taking on more cash to their books. Some banks obviously specialize in high interest accounts, usually because they do unusual things with their books, or as a marketing measure, but the major banks don’t need to raise rates.
Current data (2022): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DPSACBW027SBOG
2020: https://www.wsj.com/articles/now-banks-problem-is-too-much-c...
2021: https://www.barrons.com/articles/banks-are-drowning-in-cash-...
It's probably comparable to $500-$1000 withdrawal in America.
The tax office also froze my bank account once because of a mistake on their end. It lasted a whole week because of holidays. I could not transfer or withdraw money.
Since then, I transferred money for safekeeping with my parents abroad, and withdrew enough cash to keep me afloat for some time.
no fees and instant payments are the carot (and then they add daily limits when criminals start to kidnap people to transfer money). But the end game is a stasis wetdream of state control over citzen relations.
I wouldn’t mind this in a developed country with reliable digital banking, but it’s the opposite here. It’s not uncommon to have bank networks go down for hours or at random intervals…not having cash on you over here is the surest way to get stranded, yet they cap withdrawals and reduce the denomination of currency available for ATMs.
Our current administration (mind you, led by a President who’s a former coup de’tat military dictator) has been a farce since they got into power eight years ago…we’ve backslid on every ranking including economy, democracy, reputation, and social standing due to nothing but sheer incompetence…but sure, their minions will still vote for them next year because of religion and tribalism.