The newly redesigned naira notes will go into circulation on Thursday (today) as Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are to commence releasing the notes to their customers via over-the-counter payments.
This development is coming three weeks after the President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes during a weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the presidential villa.
The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in October, announced that the apex bank would release re-designed naira notes by December 15, 2022.
He also disclosed that the old notes would cease to be regarded as legal tender by January 31, 2023.
Emefiele pointed out that the redesigning of the naira notes would help to curb counterfeit notes, and reduce ransom payments to terrorists and kidnappers.
The CBN boss noted it was worrisome that 85 percent of the total currency in circulation was being hoarded by Nigerians.
As such, Emefiele said that the redesigning of the local currency would help to mop up the currency outside the banking sector, adding that out of about N3.3 trillion in circulation, close to N2.75 trillion was outside the banking sector.
Meanwhile, top officials of some commercial banks while speaking on Wednesday, December 14, said that they had received the new notes from CBN a couple of days ago, adding that the redesigned currency would be released to their customers from Thursday (today).
A top official of a commercial bank said that, “We got the new naira notes about two days ago. Our head office has dispatched the funds to various area offices across the country.
“My branch will pick up our allocation at a nearby area office. We will start releasing the new notes to our customers on December 15.”
Multiple banking sources also said that the new notes had arrived and were being kept in their vaults, according to The Punch.
They confirmed that the new notes would be paid to customers in banking halls from Thursday.
An official of Polaris Bank said that, “The new notes have arrived, it will be made available to customers on Thursday.”
Also, a manager at First Bank Plc said that, “We have the funds from the CBN now. It came in some days ago but it will be made available to customers from tomorrow (Thursday).”
However, some bank officials claimed that the amount of the new notes available to the various bank from the CBN was small.
According to them, most over-the-counter payments will still have to be using the old naira notes because the amount of the available new notes is still small.
An official of FCMB in Lagos state stated that, “The amount given to us is small compared to what we need. For example, what is available to my branch is less than N1 million.
“This is nothing compared to what we need, but I believe it will increase with time.”
Also, multiple banking sources confirmed that they have started to modify their Automated Teller’s Machines (ATMs) to identify the new naira notes.
A top bank executive said that, “Most of the banks have started reconfiguring their ATMs so that they can identify the new N1000, N500 and N200 notes.”
Meanwhile, findings from CBN showed that the total amount to be released into circulation may not be much as the sum previously in circulation.
A top official of the apex bank said that CBN was planning to increase electronic payments and not cash transactions.
According to him, the CBN will not be printing large amount of the new notes.
He said that, “The CBN has been disbursing the new naira notes to the banks but does not intend to disburse large quantities because it wants to boost electronic payments.
“Don’t expect that there will be a large circulation of the new notes in the economy. There are different electronic channels that people should be using,” he added.
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