The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and authorised forex dealers, directing them to accept old and lower US dollar denominations from customers in the country.
According to 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 on Monday, Solaja Olayemi, CBN’s acting director, Currency Operations Department, 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”.
The financial regulator warned that sanctions would be meted out to any bank or authorised forex dealer that rejects old series or lower denominations of the United States greenback from their customers.
Earlier Warnings From CBN
The CBN 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 have 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.
Attempts To Curb Wobbling Naira
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.
To tackle this challenge, the CBN swiftly implemented a series of policy measures, one of which targeted International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), removing the allowable limit of exchange rates quoted by them as well as limiting their operations to inbound transfers only
Another attempt was the revocation of licenses of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators engaged in alleged unethical practices.
The Olayemi Cardoso administration also released guidelines aimed at addressing the challenges faced by BDCs in the foreign exchange market, promoting a more stable and transparent financial environment.
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