In tandem with the new Central bank of Nigeria’s policy to mop up naira notes from the economy, and plan to redesign selected naira notes, commercial banks have announced changes in operation days and time.
Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26, announced that the apex bank would issue redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, effective December 15, 2022, while the new and existing currencies would remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023.
According to Emefiele, the plan to redesign the selected naira notes denominations would allow the bank to mop up N2.73 trillion out of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation that is outside the vaults of commercial banks.
Commercial banks have recently begun sending emails and social media notifications to their customers of extension in operation days and time in order to help them beat the deadline of January 31 set by the CBN.
Legitng reported that one of such banks is Access bank, which in a notification titled we are open on Saturday, said, “In order to beat the new Naira notes deadline of January 31, 2022, our branches will be open for longer hours during the week for your convenience, and they will also be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to receive cash deposits.”
Another is Ecobank, having a similar message, “You can now deposit your old banknotes ahead of the January 31st, 2022 deadline. We will be open from 10am to 3pm”.
The United Bank for Africa also said it would begin operations on Saturdays for cash deposits. The financial institution said all its branches would be open on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm for cash deposits only.
An email from UBA reads, “Following the CBN announcement on the introduction of new naira notes, we are now open on Saturdays, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for cash deposits only”
Other banks have also shared similar messages with their customers.
