The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has advised Deposit Money Banks to suspend charges on cash lodgement beyond the cash deposit policy maximum threshold as part of efforts to ensure full compliance with the Naira redesign deadline.
This was disclosed by Osita Nwanisobi, the Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN on the occasion of the CBN’s special day at the just concluded 2022 Lagos international trade fair.
Osita said “While Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have been directed to immediately start returning the existing currencies to the CBN, they have also been instructed to receive the existing banknotes beyond the threshold stipulated by the Cashless Policy without charge to customers,”
What is the cash lodgement limit?
The CBN cashless policy stipulates a daily cumulative limit of N500,000 and N3,000,000 lodgments by individual and corporate customers respectively, without charges. While the amount above these limits will attract 2 percent penal charges for individuals and 3 percent for corporate customers respectively.
When will the redesigned Naira notes be available for use.
The Apex bank recently announced the redesign, production, release, and circulation of new series of three banknotes comprising N200, N500, and N1000 denominations out of the existing eight banknotes effective December 15, 2022; after its launch by the President.
Samuel Okogbue, who represented the Deputy Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, said the new and existing currencies shall remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023,
Update on the eNaira
The Deputy Director Corporate Communications Department of the CBN represented by Samuel Okogbue, noted that the eNaira has recorded over 700,000 transactions worth about N8 billion within its first year (October 2022).
According to him, 33 banks have been fully integrated and live on the eNaira platform. In addition, over 10 million customers have been onboarded while over 3,305 merchants have successfully registered on the entire platform across the country.
Samuel said the theme of the fair, which is Connecting Businesses, Creating Value’, is in line with the Apex Bank’s strategy of consistently creating enabling policies that drive economic activities, job creation, increased productivity, and contribute to sustainable inclusive economic growth andd evelopment of the country.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria will continue to demonstrate unwavering commitment to supporting a productive economy and prudent management of the country’s vast resources as that is the only panacea to reaching Nigeria’s desired economic destination,” the director said.
Why Naira was redesigned
Explaining the reasons for the Naira redesign, Amina Abdulmalik, CBN’s Deputy Director, Currency Operations Department, at the CBN day at the just concluded Lagos International Trade Fair. Said counterfeiting and hoarding were the reasons for redesigning and introducing new banknotes.
According to him “We have a huge challenge of counterfeiting; Nigerians have set up factories and are just churning out bank notes because those banknotes do not come back into the banking system.
“We are not able to fish out the counterfeits; and most central banks in the world redesign when they see the level of counterfeits growing. But if you don’t have confidence in your bank notes then there’s a problem,” she said.
In his welcome remarks, Michael Olawale-Cole, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), appealed to the CBN to adopt more innovative ways, establish appropriate policies, and take actions that will drive down inflation rate and strengthen the value of Naira.
As regards issuance of new Naira notes, he said the CBN should also consider converting the country’s lower currency notes into coins to facilitate highly repetitive retail transactions and to avoid printing pieces of low-value notes with a short lifespan.
