The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revealed that it banned the issuance of the new naira notes over-the-counter (otc) to make them available for everyone.
It would be recalled that the central bank, some days ago, ordered Deposit Money Banks not to pay customers making over-the-counter withdrawals of new naira notes again.
However, while noting that only Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) would dispense the new naira notes going forward, CBN’s Lagos Branch Controller, Godfrey Koyor expressed confidence that the circulation of it is huge already.
His words: “We are giving everyone the assurance that the new naira notes are available and available to everyone. We are distributing through the banking system. And as the transaction takes place, you are going to be having the new ones.
“So as people are giving out the old notes, they will be receiving the new notes. We have pushed a lot of the new redesigned currency notes into circulation and it is going round.
“I am assuring you that if you go to the ATM, you will get the new notes. The essence of giving the directive that the new naira notes should be dispensed through the ATM is so that they will be available to people during working hours and off working hours.
“So, whether it is banking hours or outside the banking hours, if you go to your ATM, you will get the new naira notes. It is a directive that the apex bank has given to all deposit money banks to make the money available in the machines so that people can have access to it, and we are supplying them with the new notes and they are making it available to the machines.”
Speaking further, the CBN chief said all banks across Nigeria must comply with the directive, adding that there are implications to non-compliance.
“There are implications for non-compliance from the bank, the Central Bank, we have supplied the banks and we have given them a directive to make the notes available to the customer through the payment channels, which is the ATM,” he added.
