There are less than eight days left for Nigerians to ‘grab their copy’ of the new naira notes.
After January 31, the old naira notes would officially go out of style as a ‘legal tender’, and our new ugly notes would officially be in use.
The new ₦1000 note
Except there’s a slight problem — Nigerians can hardly find new notes in circulation.
After several days of back and forth between CBN and local banks over the new naira note distribution, CBN governor ‘Meffy’ Emefiele has come to us with a new solution. This is the cash swap programme which starts today.
Here’s what it is, how it works, and how it benefits YOU.
What is the cash swap programme?
In the programme, any Nigerian can either go to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMO) (aka your “POS” plugs), and super agents (companies licensed by CBN for the purpose of agency banking) to exchange the old notes for the new. These old notes are in the denominations of ₦1000, ₦500, and ₦200 notes.
How will the programme work?
News flash — this isn’t a means to dump your entire cash savings to be changed. Each person only gets to deposit a maximum of ₦10,000 with an agent to be changed.
However, if you are an ‘Odogwu’ with more than ₦10,000 at home, the cash will be deposited in your online wallet or bank account. In that case, the Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Identification Number (NIN), or Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) details of the customers will be captured as much as possible.
But don’t expect this programme to be done for free. CBN has permitted agents to add their profit in the form of “cash out fees” to all cash swap transactions.
How will this benefit you?
As much as it may suck to have to pay additional fees to collect new notes, it also has some benefits. The new notes are not only at the mercy of your legacy banks alone. It can also be collected via accredited POS operators, which is an easier channel for money distribution. It will also help people living in rural areas where banks are not as accessible.
If you don’t have a bank account or wallet, then this is the perfect time to acquire one too. Agents would set up bank accounts using CBN Tiered Know Your Customer (KYC) Framework. This will ensure that you are able to exchange or deposit your cash seamlessly without taking unnecessary risks or incurring undue costs.
After all this, what are you waiting for? Check out these CBN-accredited DMBs and MMOs today and get your new naira notes! Remember, time is ticking.
