Bank of Uganda has announced new maximum caps reducing the amount of money individauls and businesses can withdrawal in cash over- the counter to minimize fruad and encourage new online methods of banking .
According to the new controls on over-the-counter cash withdrawals, individual account holders will be restricted to daily withdrawals of up to Shs50 million and a weekly maximum of Shs250 million.
Corporate customers and businesses will be permitted to withdraw up to Shs500 million per day and Shs2.5 billion per week.
“According to our data, payments have undergone a digital shift and electronic credit transfers are the number 1 payment method. Digital payments continue to grow in volume and value, indicating that consumers trust and prefer their efficiency,” BoU said in a statement.
BoU explained that the above limits, however, don’t apply to digital payment channels such as the Real Time Gross Settlement(RTGS) System and Electronic Fund Transfers(ETFs).
The central bank said it is aware that some sectors remain heavily dependent on cash and accordingly, it has issued guidance to the supervised financial institutions on exception management.
“Because some sectors still depend heavily on cash though, financial institutions will be able to seek exceptions for certain transactions or sectors.”
BoU urged financial institutions to promote alternative digital channels such as RTGS,EFTs and mobile money bank to wallet transfers.
