New Notes On ATMs: CBN To Start Sanctioning Banks

With 12 days to the January 31, 2023 deadline set for the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes to cease to be legal tender, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged Nigerians to report banks that fail to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the newly redesigned notes, saying, it will begin to sanction banks that fail to comply with the directive.

Speaking during a sensitisation event in the popular Computer Village market in Ikeja, Lagos yesterday, the director, Legal Services department of the apex bank, Mr. Kofo Salam-Alada, who represented the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, also emphasised that, the January 31 deadline for the old notes to cease to  be legal tender remains sacrosanct.

Salam-Alada, while noting that he had gone round to some ATMs in Lagos and discovered that some are still dispensing old notes, said, the apex bank will soon announce sanctions for banks that fail to comply with the directive to load up and dispense the new notes through their ATMs.

Noting that there is more than enough of new notes to go round, he stated that, the shortage of the new notes in circulation was due to the failure of banks to collect the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes from the vault of the CBN.

“I can tell you today that the CBN, on daily basis, issue out the new notes. As we speak, banks are with the CBN taking money. We are actually begging banks to come and take money from central bank. We have these new naira in our vaults and we are begging banks to come and take it.

“We found out that a lot of things are happening that we need to checkmate, so we stopped withdrawal of new notes over the counter to ensure  that everyone can have access to it and not one chief who is known to the manager, walks in, and  carts away all the new notes in a particular branch. That is why we said it should be in the ATMs which cannot distinguish people.

“We also have monitors going around banks now. I have been to some ATMs this morning and I have done the reports. We are not mobilising the masses against the banks because the banks are there to serve you, but be rest assured that they will serve you now that they know that the CBN is on them to serve you with the new naira notes.”

Reacting to questions from traders in the market that some people were selling the new notes, he said anyone caught selling the new notes or any denomination of the naira would be jailed.

Speaking on the new notes, the President of the Coalition of Associations in Computer Village, Timi Davies, noted that the new naira notes are a good initiative.

He said, “But unfortunately, the new notes are not well circulated within our market. The ATM machines are not dispensing the new notes and only a few privileged ones seem to be having access to the new notes.

“We want to encourage the CBN and the government to enforce the deadline on the banks. There should be no bank that should not be giving the new naira from their ATMs. All ATMs should load the new notes. As we are giving the old notes, we should be able to get the new notes. If the ATMs are not dispensing, the new notes will not flow around.”

The Olukosi of Ikeja Land, Chief Lateef Oluseyi, assured the CBN of the support of the traditional rulling house in educating the community.

He dispelled rumours that the new naira was not durable.

According to him, the new notes with more than 35 security features were not easy for counterfeiters to make