“We’re Surprised”: Banks Explain New Naira Notes Scarcity as Deadline Approaches, CBN Releases N701.4BN
- The new naira notes seem to be in limited supply in the country despite months left to the deadline
- However, bankers have provided insight into why there are more old notes than new naira notes in circulation
- Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that the amount of currency in circulation has dropped to N1.6trn
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As the deadline for the use of old naira notes approaches Nigerians across the country continue to express their concerns about the scarcity of new naira notes.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the Supreme Court, following the intervention of state governors, extended the validity of the old naira notes to December 31, 2023.
Source: Facebook
Banks explain the scarcity of new naira notes
As of today, Wednesday, April 19th, 2023, it is exactly eight months and 12 days until the expiration of the deadline for the old naira notes.
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The situation appears unchanged as banks continue to predominantly pay customers with old naira notes.
During a visit to a commercial bank in Ikeja, a customer was observed complaining to a cashier in the banking hall.
The customer was unhappy that their N40,000 withdrawal, along with those of other customers, were all in old notes.
The surprised cashier explained that the bank had no control over the type of currency supplied, as they only received old notes from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
During an interview with Legit.ng, a branch manager at another commercial bank, who identified himself as Ifeanyi, expressed his belief that the Central Bank of Nigeria was unprepared for the new naira notes.
He went on to explain that 70 percent of every cash supply received from the CBN had been old notes.
His words:
"As bankers, we are also surprised. A lot of our customers believe the fault is ours, but it is not. We release what we receive from the CBN to our customers.
"It takes almost two years for new notes to be in full supply anywhere in the world. I am worried about what will happen again by December based on the current situation."
Attempts to contact Isa Abdulmumin, the CBN spokesman, in order to gain clarity on the limited supply of new naira notes, were unsuccessful at the time of writing this report.
Currency in circulation
In the meantime, the CBN has reported that the amount of currency in circulation in the country rose by N701.4 billion within a month, reaching N1.6 trillion as of March 2023.
The CBN defines currency-in-circulation as currency outside of the central bank's vaults, meaning all legal tender currencies in the possession of the public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks.
Punch reported that the currency in circulation had fallen by 235.03 percent to N982.09bn by the end of February, down from N3.29tn at the end of October 2022, following the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
CBN to close millions of bank accounts in Access, UBA, Zenith, and others
In another report, Legit.ng revealed that CBN is planning to close bank accounts without BVN to clean up the sector and reduce fraud.
BVN is a unique identifier capturing biometric data used to verify customer identities and prevent fraud.
There are 24 commercial banks operating in Nigeria, including Access, UBA, Zenith, and other financial institutions that require BVN.
Source: Legit.ng
