The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations across the country.
The CBN has confirmed the evacuation of banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks as part of the effort.
The acting director of the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Isa AbdulMumin, disclosed this on Friday, March 24, 2023, in Abuja. He stated that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers.
As part of the initiative, the CBN has directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays. This means that branches of commercial banks will operate on weekends to attend to customers’ cash needs.
AbdulMumin urged Nigerians to be patient as the current situation would ease soon with the injection of more banknotes into circulation. He also noted that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country.
The move is expected to improve the availability and accessibility of cash in the country, as well as reduce the pressure on the existing banknotes in circulation.
The CBN’s efforts to increase the availability of banknotes is a welcome development for many Nigerians who have been experiencing difficulties obtaining cash from banks and ATMs recently.
