The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks nationwide to start working on Saturdays till January 31, 2023 to enable bank customers exchange their old Naira notes for new ones.
This was disclosed by Osita Nwasinobi, the Director of the Corporate Communications Department of the apex bank at the CBN fair in Ilorin on Thursday.
Nwasinobi reiterated that the new and existing currencies will remain legal tenders and will be circulated alongside each other until January 31, 2023, when the existing currency would cease to be legal tenders in Nigeria.
Represented by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Akpama Uket, the director said that Deposit Money Banks had been directed to immediately start returning the existing currencies to the CBN.
He said, “They have also been instructed to receive the existing banknotes beyond the threshold stipulated by the Cashless Policy without charges to customers.
“Consequently, you must return all the current N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to your bank before the expiration of the deadline.”
Recall that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had said the purpose of redesigning naira notes was to achieve macroeconomic stability, noting that the efforts entailed building a strong, stable, and resilient economy that would be self-sustaining and able to weather unanticipated shocks.
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