Banks To Open On Saturday As CBN Instructs Alternative Channel

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed commercial banks in the country to work on Saturdays till January 31, 2023, to enable customers return existing naira notes.

The CBN has previously stated that the new N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes would be released on December 15, 2022.

The present notes will cease to be legal tender on January 31, 2023, according to Osita Nwasinobi, director of the CBN’s corporate communications department, who was speaking at the CBN exhibition on Thursday in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.

“Promoting financial stability and economic development” is the theme of the CBN fair.

Speaking on behalf of the CBN, Akpama Uket, acting director of corporate communications, said that Deposit Money Banks have been instructed to begin returning the existing currencies to the CBN right away.

“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,” he said.

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Let me further underline the need to handle the naira with care,” the CBN said in a statement warning Nigerians of the repercussions of handling naira notes carelessly. Our national pride continues to be represented by the naira. Give it the utmost respect.

“Naira should not be sprayed, squeezed, or counterfeited; failure to comply has consequences.”

Recall the CBN announced intentions to redesign and reprint the N1000, N500, and N200 currency denominations on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, in an effort to curb inflation and take control of the nation’s money supply.

Since the news, hoarders are reportedly lining up at banks around the country to deposit the mountains of cash they are holding.

Unspent N200 notes created in 2003, roughly 19 years ago, were seen being presented to the bank in the most recent video, which Nigerians saw as the race to meet CBN deadlines intensified.

A bank cashier in one of the banks recorded the notes being brought to the bank for deposit while they were neatly arranged according to their serial numbers.

As she played around with the notes and revealed the year they were printed, a female voice observed, “You can tell that these notes have not been spent.

She claims that those who delivered the cash for the deposit were attempting to beat the CBN deadline in order to prevent being caught off guard.

Since there is an abundance of the local currency on the market, analysts believe that the introduction of unspent naira notes into circulation is what caused the naira to plummet.