Eight Quick Facts About New Naira Notes

It is no longer news that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the coming of new naira notes.

The apex bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, who made this announcement at a press conference on Wednesday, said the new design and issues will be effective from December 15, 2022.

He advised Nigerians to take old notes to banks for the new notes.

According to Emefiele, the new notes include N200, N500 and N1000.

The announcement has however thrown up more questions than answers.

A lot of Nigerians have been confused about the necessity of the new CBN policy, it’s impact on the monetary side of the economy, it’s potential impact on inflation and exchange rate etc.

Most importantly, Nigerians have been worried and confused about how to transit from the old currency notes to the new ones.

Below are eight quick facts that will be of help:

1. Banks will only accept cash from customers with full KYC (Know Your Customers) and bank accounts.

2. Cash must only be paid into customers’ accounts. Cash must not be paid into ledgers or suspense accounts.

3. CBN and EFCC will be tracking all deposits.

4. Old currency will become useless on the 31st of January 2023.

5. It’s an opportunity to leverage on branch networks to drive funding of accounts.

6. It will drive digital adoption and opening of new accounts.

7. CBN will no longer print large quantities of cash. New cashless policy to be announced in January.

8. Banks that receive cash from non-account holders or customers will be penalised by CBN and EFCC.