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The new naira banknotes comprising of N1,000, N500 and N200 which began circulating nationwide from December 15, are yet to get into the major towns and villages where they are needed, The Nation has learnt.

The continued scarcity of the redesigned banknotes in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), over-the-counter transactions and Point of Sale (PoS) transaction points has angered many bank customer, who described it as bad for business.

During a visit to Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Unity Bank and Fidelity Bank branches in Matori Lagos, the bank tellers also lamented the scarcity of the new bank notes.

They said some customers who intentionally came to their bank branches to withdraw the new banknotes were disappointed at the persistent scarcity of the notes.

A teller who spoke anonymously, said aside the initial cash supply to his branch in December 15 which included the new banknotes, subsequent supplies cash management team only contained the old banknotes.

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“We expected the cash management team to keep supplying the new banknotes and keeping away the old bank notes, but that is no the case. Aside the first supply on December 15 when we got the first set on new banknotes, only old banknotes were supplied in subsequent supplies,” the source said.

During the visit to the bank branches, it was discovered that all the cash bundles displayed at the counter were old banknotes. Some bold customers who asked for the new banknotes were politely told that the new notes are not available.

“We do not have the new banknotes. If we have, we will give you,”  a bank teller told a customer, Michael Azu, who was paid N100,000 cash.

Other bank customers  said the limited circulation of the banknotes could put them under pressure to beat the January 31, deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for all old banknotes to be returned to the banks.

Moses Adigun, a Lagos-based entrepreneur said it is over two weeks since the new notes began circulation, but he is yet to receive even one note.

“I keep hearing that there is new banknotes in town but I have not even touched one of them. This will make it difficult to beat the January 31 deadline  for all old notes to get to the banks,” he said.

Also speaking, Stevens Abiodun, a vegetable seller based in Ajao Lagos, said he has only seen the new bank notes on Facebook. “I am yet to touch even N200 new banknote. I have only seen them on Facebook and Twitter,” he said.

An economist, Tope Fasua, gave another view to the scarcity of the new bank notes.

He said the scarcity of the banknotes could be a deliberate policy plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen the naira.

He said: “People have speculated that the CBN will not print all the N3.2 trillion it is taking out of circulation and that makes sense. Scarcity of Naira at some point may lead to people changing their dollars back into naira cash just to live their normal lives, thus strengthening the naira”.

“Scarce naira cash, coupled with the new innovations that the CBN is bringing up (such as the Naira domestic card) will also lead to better adoption of e-banking. In the UK for years now, a third party cannot pay cash into any account. In most countries they have since gone contactless”.

Fasua explained that somehow the Naira redesign move now has multiple implications and is not only about operational counterfeiting issues but also a window to establish a better trajectory for the naira in terms of its value.

“The Central Bank must seize this opportunity and I also advise President Buhari to do the same. In Economics we always talk about unintended consequences. The first phase was the slump in the value of the naira as people moved money from their soak-aways to buy foreign currency, especially those who are too criminal to put same in a bank. A second phase could be marked by the strengthening of the Naira in that same black market,” he said.

Also, on the average, naira appreciated by 6.90 per cent to N743.89/$ in December (1st – 28th) from the average of N799.05/$ in the same period in November.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the appreciation of the naira at the parallel market is partly due to naira tightness and improved forex supply.

“The naira traded within the band of N445.33/$ – N461.3/$ in December (1st-28th) at the I&E window. It averaged N450.06/$, 0.96 per cent depreciation from the average of N445.80/$ in the same period in November. On the other hand, the naira at the parallel market touched a low of N752/$ in the month of December compared to the low of N875/$ in November,” he said.

A check on the CBN’s website showed 28 days remaining for the old banknotes to cease being a legal tender. 

The Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) had on December 15,  commenced payment of their customers with new naira notes as directed by the CBN.

Although the CBN  said it has commenced distribution of the newly redesigned Naira notes to banks across the country, commercial banks in major cities in Nigeria are still struggling with limited availability as they began dispensing a few redesigned naira notes to over-the-counter customers.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele recently  said the new currencies have now reached the banks and it is expected that the banks will soon distribute those currencies to the members of the public who are their customers.

Emefiele had said the new notes and old notes will operate together for some time, maybe that is the reason they are paying in both old and new notes.

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