In an effort to rein in inflation and take control of the money supply in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it will begin a mop-up of the current Naira notes in the country, giving Nigerians about 47 days to exchange the current naira notes with the new notes.
The redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes are expected to be in circulation on December 15, 2022, while the current Naira notes will no longer be legal tender from January 31, 2023, according to the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele, however, noted that individuals with cash at hand can begin depositing their monies into their bank accounts from Thursday, October 27, 2022, at no cost ahead of the disbursement of the new Naira notes giving them 100 days to swap old notes for the redesigned notes.
The CBN, which had been battling inflation, noted that with more than N2.73 trillion out on the streets from the N3.23 trillion outside the CBN vaults, it aims to take control of the money supply by mopping up all cash from the economy both within the vaults of banks and in the hands of citizens.
Customers of banks are enjoined to begin paying into their bank accounts the existing currency to enable them to withdraw the new banknotes once circulation begins in mid-December 2022. All banks are therefore expected to keep open, their currency processing centers from Monday to Saturday so as to accommodate all cash that will be returned by their customers
Members of the public are to please note that the present notes remain legal tender and should not be rejected as a means of exchange for the purchase of goods and services.