Naira redesign: Five things you must know about CBN new Naira notes ahead of circulation

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The Central Bank of Nigeria has continued its effort to prepare Nigerians ahead of the circulation of the new Naira notes.

The new Naira notes are expected to be available to the public from Thursday, December 15, 2022.

Punch reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown his full support to the move and wants Nigerians to comply.

According to Buhari, the nation would gain a lot by the new initiative, especially its impact on illicit monies.

Five Things You Should Know About Naira Redesign

In his address announcing the new Naira notes, Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of CBN, said the changes are for only high-value currencies, which include N200, N500, and N1,000

Old notes life shelf

According to CBN, the new notes will be out from December 15, 2022, however, the old notes will still be in circulation until January 31, 2023, after which they cease to be legal tender.

Banks deposit

Emefiele, in his address noted that anyone with the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes must deposit them in the bank.

His words: "Customers of banks are enjoined to begin paying into their bank accounts the existing currency to enable them withdraw the new banknotes once circulation begins in mid December 2022."

Bank charges suspended

To make it easy, CBN also announced that the CBN would suspend bank charges on all deposits during this period. CBN also went further to remove restrictions on how much cash Nigerians can deposit in the bank.

CBN statement reads: "For the purpose of this transition from existing to new notes, bank charges for cash deposits are hereby suspended with immediate effect. "Therefore, DMBs are to note that no bank customer shall bear any charges for cash returned/paid into their accounts."

Extended work hours

Banks are expected to extend the number of days they work during the week to enable members of the public to deposit monies in their possession. CBN instructed that all banks are to keep open their currency processing centres from Monday to Saturday to accommodate all cash that will be returned by their customers.

A copy of bank changes in working days and closing time was captured in a previous report by Legit.ng.