Cash Outside Banks Falls to ₦4.92trn – CBN
Cash held outside Nigeria’s banking system fell to its lowest level in seven months in June 2026, reflecting a gradual return of physical currency to deposit money banks amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) push to deepen digital payments.
According to the latest Money and Credit Statistics, currency outside banks declined to ₦4.92 trillion in June, down from ₦5.19 trillion in May.
Analysis by The Punch showed that cash outside banks dropped by ₦485.80 billion, or 8.98%, from ₦5.41 trillion in December 2025.
The June figure is the lowest since November 2025, when cash outside banks stood at ₦4.91 trillion. The CBN noted that the sharper decline in cash outside banks compared with total currency in circulation suggests that more physical cash is flowing back into the banking system rather than being withdrawn permanently.
Total currency in circulation fell from ₦5.73 trillion in December 2025 to ₦5.52 trillion in June 2026, a decrease of ₦209.56 billion, or 3.66%.
Month-on-month trends showed fluctuations: cash outside banks dropped from ₦5.41 trillion in December to ₦5.25 trillion in January, eased further to ₦5.19 trillion in February, and ₦5.08 trillion in April. It briefly rose to ₦5.19 trillion in May before plunging by ₦270.97 billion to ₦4.92 trillion in June — the largest monthly contraction in the six-month dataset.
In June, cash outside banks accounted for 89.11% of total currency in circulation, down from 91.27% in May and 94.33% in December 2025. This indicates that about ₦89 of every ₦100 in circulation was held outside banks, compared with ₦91 a month earlier.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has set ambitious targets under the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028, aiming to reduce cash outside banks to less than 40% of money in circulation by 2028.
“I would like to see a situation where we will reduce cash outside the banking system to less than 40 per cent of money in circulation,” Cardoso said.
Such a shift, analysts note, could improve monetary policy transmission, increase banking sector liquidity, and strengthen lenders’ ability to support economic activity.
Despite progress, cash continues to dominate transactions in retail markets, transportation, rural communities, and the informal sector, even as instant payment platforms, mobile banking, fintech services, and agent banking networks expand rapidly.