GTBank, Zenith Bank, others to start releasing newly redesigned naira notes
by ebor cletus ralph jr
On Thursday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will begin distributing the newly designed N200, N500, and N1000 notes through commercial banks.
Ripples Nigeria has stated that the central bank had altered the old naira notes in an effort to lessen the amount of money in circulation and outside the banking system.
Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the central bank, had claimed that out of the N3.3 trillion in money in circulation, Nigerians were keeping 85% of it, or roughly N2.75 trillion, outside the safe deposit boxes of Nigerian banks.
Emefiele had stated in October that the redesigned naira would be introduced on December 15 in order to absorb the currency already in circulation and aid the financial regulator in controlling inflation.
Nigeria’s banking industry is made up of about 11 commercial banks, including Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Zenith Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Stanbic IBTC, amongst others.
Nigerians will be able to purchase the freshly redesigned Naira notes of 500 and 1000 over the counter in the banking areas of major financial institutions.
This is because banks were instructed by the apex bank head to alter their automated teller machines (ATM) to only dispense N200.
The Senate has recommended the central bank to raise the limit for cash withdrawals from ATMs, point-of-sale machines, and over-the-counter locations, according to Ripples Nigeria (PoS).
Two members of the upper chamber proposed raising the individual withdrawal cap to N500,000, while another recommended allowing firms to withdraw N3 million.
Also, there was complaints about the N20,000 limit on ATM and PoS, with some lawmakers stating that the limit is too small for businesses in informal markets and farmers.
