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commercial banks with penalties if it is discovered that they are loading their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) with outdated notes that would no longer be accepted as legal cash on January 31.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.
She said, “There is no justification for banks to still be supplying their Automated Teller Machines with old notes and the apex bank has made enough redesigned notes accessible for distribution to members of the public. ” Any bank found out will “face appropriate sanction,” she added.
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In a previous statement, Dr. Yusuf listed the justifications for revamping the notes, which included reducing terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and pervasive corruption.
Since a sizable amount of money that is not in the financial system is what causes inflation, it is necessary to update the currency every five to eight years in accordance with international best practices.
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.
He asserted that active sensitization is important because Lokoja is a gateway state to numerous states where many business transactions involving money conversion take place.
To make sure that the machines are filled with the freshly redesigned notes, the Apex bank also started inspecting select ATMs throughout the city.
