What You Need to Know About the New Naira Policy
By Chuks Emele
It’s no longer news that the Central Bank of Nigeria under Governor Godwin Emefiele on October 26 announced that the monetary regulator had embarked on a redesign of the highest denominations of the naira.
Nigerians and others holding old 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes would have between December 15 and January 30 to switch the old notes for the new ones.
What has since become more of the news is the December 6 CBN circular saying that cash withdrawals would from January 9 be limited to 20,000 naira daily for individuals and 100,000 naira daily for companies. It’s a decision that has roiled the polity, perhaps with general elections due in February and politicians feeling unduly targeted by the impending cash squeeze.
Buckling under immense pressure, the Central Bank has since adjusted the withdrawal limits to 500,000 weekly for individuals and five million for companies. Furthermore, Nairaweb.ng also provides you a breakdown of all the information you need to navigate the new naira policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Holders of old naira notes have until January 30 to exchange them. These are things you may need to know:
- You can deposit old notes and exchange them immediately for the new ones subject to the availability of cash. It may also depend on the type of account you have with a given bank.
- An existing bank customer whose account is flagged for no credits will be able to deposit old notes but won’t be able to make a withdrawal until the account is regularized.
- Under the current Central Bank guidelines, no cash deposits are to be rejected. Customers who walk in with cash will be required to open accounts to enable them make deposits. Even accounts marked for no credit will be able to take in deposits of the old notes.
- Walk in customers can’t just walk into banks to swap cash. They will have to open an account.
- Dormant bank accounts will also be allowed to make deposits into their accounts. But they will have to reactivate the accounts before they can make any fund withdrawals.
- Where circumstances demand, and individual or company can withdraw above the specified limit. In such cases, the individual will pay a processing fee of 3 percent while a company will pay 5 percent.