The Central Bank of Nigeria has warned against the continued rejection of old series and lower denominations of the American dollar by its regulated entities in Nigeria.
The bank threatened to sanction lenders that rejected the currencies.
The apex bank the directive became necessary as it had been inundated with complaints from customers after it conducted consumer market intelligence.
In a circular dated June 27, 2024 but made public recently on the apex bank’s website, CBN’s Acting Director, Currency Operations Department, Solaja Olayemi, said the regulator frowned at “this selective acceptance of deposit” and that all relevant parties comply accordingly.
The CBN said all banks and authorised forex dealers “should henceforth accept both old series and lower denominations of United States Dollars (USD) that are legal tender for deposit from their customers”.
READ ALSO: CBN to implement more policies to tackle cybersecurity challenges
The financial regulator warned that sanctions would be meted out to any bank or authorised forex dealer that reject old series or lower denominations of the United States’ greenback from their customers.
The CBN had issued directives in 2021, instructing forex dealers and deposit money banks to stop refusing old dollar bills and denominations.
Complaints from customers over the refusal to accept the lower notes as a means of transaction had also led to sanctions.
The apex bank also warned authorised dealers from stamping or defacing dollar bills as it would fail the authentication tests during processing and sorting.
Mid-2023, the CBN, acting out the directive of President Bola Tinubu, announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange market, indicating that the exchange rate will rise or fall based on the supply and demand in the market.
The reason, according to President Tinubu, was the need to “stop the bleeding of our finances”.
Despite early positive signs, the Naira would eventually breach the ₦700/$ threshold hitting over ₦1,500/$ at the moment.
Credible News.ng
