Nigeria’s currency in circulation (CIC) rose by N418bn from N2.91tn in December, 2020, to N3.33tn in December, 2021, according to figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN data showed that currency in circulation had increased by 19.06 per cent from N2.44tn recorded as of December, 2019. The CBN said in its report on currency operations that, “the growth in CIC reflected the continued dominance of cash in the economy.”
The report further read in part, “Analysis of the CIC shows that a greater proportion was in higher denomination banknotes (N100, N200, N500 and N1000). The higher denomination banknotes together accounted for 63.47 percent and 98.08 percent of the total CIC, in terms of volume and value, respectively.
“The volume of lower denomination banknotes (N5, N10, N20, N50) accounted for 28.43 percent of the total CIC and 1.92 percent, in terms of value as at end-December 2020.”
According to the CBN, electronic payment options were introduced with a major aim of reducing the amount of naira notes used for transactions, but not to eliminate cash usage.
Cashless transactions using the e-payments, the CBN said, would help to increase convenience, provide more service options, reduce risk of cash-related crimes, and provide cheaper access to (out-of-branch) banking services and access to credit.
The CBN defines currency in circulation as currency outside the vaults of the central bank, that is, all legal tender currency in the hands of the general public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks.
The CBN said it employed the “accounting/statistical/withdrawals & deposits approach” to compute the currency in circulation in Nigeria. It said this approach involved tracking the movements of currency in circulation on a transaction-by-transaction basis.
According to the CBN, for every withdrawal made by a Deposit Money Bank at one of CBN’s branches, an increase in CIC is recorded; and for every deposit made by a DMB at one of CBN’s branches, a decrease in CIC is recorded.
The transactions are all recorded in the CBN’s CIC account, and the balance on the account at any point in time represents the country’s currency in circulation.
