Deadline: New Naira Notes Go Into Circulation Today As Banks Reconfigure ATMs

 

on New Naira notes go into circulation today as banks reconfigure ATMs

Deposit Money Banks have started reconfiguring the Automated Teller Machines as the newly redesigned naira notes will go into circulation today.

This is coming barely three weeks after the President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new notes after it it was presented to his by the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele at a weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Aso Rock Villa.

The President unveiled the redesigned notes across the N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations in presence of cabinet members.

Emefiele had in October announced that apex bank would release re-designed naira notes by December 15, 2022, stating that the old notes will cease to be legal tender on January 31.

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 expressed worries that 85 per cent of the total currency in circulation was being hoarded by Nigerians. As such, he said the redesigning of the local currency would help to mop up the currency outside the banking sector, adding that out of about N3.3tn in circulation, close to N2.75tn were outside the banking sector.

Meanwhile, top officials of commercial banks confirmed to the Punch newspaper on Wednesday they had received the new notes from the CBN a couple of days ago, adding that the redesigned currency would be released to their customers effective Thursday (today).

“We got the funds (new 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 by Thursday,” according to a top official of a commercial bank who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

Multiple banking sources also said the new notes had arrived and were being kept in their vaults.

They confirmed the new notes would be paid to customers in banking halls beginning from Thursday.

“The new notes have arrived, it will be made available to customers from tomorrow (Thursday)” an official of Polaris Bank who pleaded anonymity told The PUNCH.