Commercial banks are eagerly awaiting a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBn) on the fate of the old Naira notes.
The Supreme Court ruled on March 3, that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain legal tender till December 31, 2023.
But despite the ruling, most commercial bank branches, according reports, are still rejecting old Naira notes.
A branch manager at EcoBank, who declined to have his name mentioned, said they were still waiting for the CBN circular officially directing them to accept old Naira notes.
He also said that only customers with a printout from the CBN portal for old Naira notes could deposit the cash.
His words: “Currently, customers can only deposit old naira notes by presenting a printout from the CBN portal. We are still waiting for a CBN circular that will allow us to accept the old N1,000 and N500 notes”.
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One of the officials working with Access Bank said the banks would obey what CBN says, arguing that they are not in a position to look beyond their regulator, for instructions to obey.
He said: “Banks in Nigeria are heavily regulated, and we only take directives from the CBN. Despite the ruling, we still need to hear from our regulator – the CBN,” he said.
An official of Keystone Bank also said: “We don’t have the old notes and are not answerable to the Supreme Court. The CBN must send a circular before we can implement any directive.”