The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has threatened commercial banks with penalties if it is discovered that they are loading their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) with outdated notes that would no longer be accepted as legal cash on January 31.
Dr. Rekiyat Yusuf, deputy director of currency operations, stated on Thursday in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, that any ATM found to still have old notes would be shut down and the appropriate sanctions would be applied on the operating bank. He was speaking during a market education session about the redesigned naira notes.
She urged traders to take advantage of the January 31 deadline window to visit their banks—or any bank, if they don’t have one already—and exchange their money for the freshly redesigned 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes.
“There is no reason for banks to still be stocking their Automated Teller Machines with old notes and the apex bank has made enough redesigned notes available for dispensing to members of the public,” she said adding that any bank caught would be made to “face appropriate sanction.”
In a previous statement, Dr. Yusuf listed the justifications for revamping the notes, which included reducing terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and pervasive corruption.
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Inflation is fueled by a large amount of money that is not in the financial system, therefore revamping currency every five to eight years in accordance with worldwide best practices is necessary.
Alhaji Ahmed Sule, the CBN branch controller for Kogi State, also spoke and urged businessmen to embrace the new currency up until the deadline of January 31.
According to him, Lokoja being a gateway state to many states where a lot of business transactions involving currency exchange take place, it is necessary to embark on active sensitisation.”
The Apex bank also embarked on the inspection of some Automated Teller Machines within the metropolis to ensure that the machines are stocked with the newly redesigned notes.
