Business

Currency In Circulation Now N982bn – CBN

Published

3 years ago

March 19, 2023

The currency in circulation in the country dipped by a 235.03 per cent to N982.09bn at the end of February from N3.29tn at the end of October 2022, on the back of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Figures obtained from the CBN revealed that N2.3tn was mopped up from circulation during the period under review.

According to the CBN, the currency in circulation moved from N3.16tn to N3.29tn and N1.38tn in November 2022, December 2022 and January 2023 respectively.

The Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had in October 2022, announced plans to redesign the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

Emefiele also announced deadlines for Nigerians to swap their old notes with the new notes.

The governor decried the challenges associated with currency management, including the hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 per cent of currency-in-circulation was outside the vaults of commercial banks.

Other challenges, he added included a shortage of clean and fit banknotes with an attendant negative perception of the CBN and increased risk to financial stability and increasing ease and risk of counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports.

In the last few years, the CBN has recorded significantly higher rates of counterfeiting, especially in regard to the higher denominations of N500 and 1000 notes, he said.

At the expiration of the deadline for the old notes, due to the scarcity of the new naira notes, which subjected Nigerians to hardship President Muhammadu Buhari approved the continued use of the old N200 as legal tender till April 10.

However, after some state governments sued the Federal Government over the naira redesign policy, the Supreme Court in its ruling on March 3 extended the legal tender status of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes to December 31.

On Tuesday, 10 days after the Supreme Court judgement, the CBN officially ordered commercial banks to comply with the court verdict.

According to the CBN, currency-in-circulation is defined as currency outside the vaults of the central bank; that is, all legal tender currency in the hands of the public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks.

The CBN stated that it employed the “accounting/statistical/withdrawals and deposits approach” to compute the currency in circulation in Nigeria.

This approach involved tracking the movements of currency in circulation on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

It said for every withdrawal made by a DMB at one of CBN’s branches, an increase in the CIC was recorded, adding that for every deposit made by a DMB at one of CBN’s branches, a decrease in the CIC was recorded.

The transactions are all recorded in the CBN’s CIC account, and the balance on the account at any point in time represents the country’s currency in circulation.

The apex bank said analysis of the currency in circulation showed that a large and increasing proportion of the naira outside the commercial banking system was held by the public who hoard a lot of the new banknotes.
PUNCH

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

2 weeks ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.

Business

CBN Directs Banks To Refund Failed ATM Transactions Within 48hrs

Published

2 weeks ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine transactions within 48 hours, in a sweeping reform aimed at protecting consumers and restoring confidence in the banking system.

The directive is contained in a draft guideline released by the apex bank on Saturday, titled “Exposure of the Draft Guidelines on the Operations of Automated Teller Machines in Nigeria.”

The document, signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of Payments System Policy Department, was circulated to banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and independent ATM deployers, with a call for stakeholder feedback by October 31, 2025.

Under the draft, failed “on-us” transactions, where customers use their own bank’s ATM, must be reversed instantly. If technical glitches prevent immediate reversal, the bank is required to manually refund the customer within 24 hours.

For “not-on-us” transactions, involving other banks’ ATMs, refunds must be processed within 48 hours.

“Customers must not be made to suffer for failed transactions caused by system errors or network failures,” the circular stressed.

In a significant shift, the CBN mandated banks and ATM acquirers to deploy technology that automatically reverses failed or partial transactions, removing the need for customers to lodge complaints.

Institutions holding customer funds due to failed disbursements must reconcile and return balances immediately.

According to the apex bank, these measures respond to widespread frustration over delayed refunds and poor customer service and form part of a broader effort to enhance consumer protection, improve reliability, and modernise Nigeria’s payment infrastructure in line with global standards.

The guidelines will also overhaul ATM operations nationwide. Banks and card issuers are now required to deploy at least one ATM for every 5,000 active cards, with phased targets of 30% compliance in 2026, 60% in 2027, and full compliance by 2028. Any future deployment, relocation, or decommissioning of ATMs must receive prior approval from the CBN.

To ensure safety, ATMs must be fitted with anti-skimming devices, CCTV cameras, and placed in enclosed or well-lit areas.

Machines are expected to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, maintain audit logs, and display functional helpdesk contacts. At least 2% of all ATMs must feature tactile symbols for visually impaired customers.

ATMs are also required to dispense cash before returning cards, allow free PIN changes, issue receipts for all transactions except balance inquiries, display clear transaction fees, dispense only clean banknotes, and provide backup power to reduce downtime.

Downtime must not exceed 72 consecutive hours, after which operators must inform the public of the cause and expected restoration time.

The CBN will enforce compliance through regular audits, on-site inspections, and monthly reports from ATM operators detailing deployments and locations. Defaulting institutions risk sanctions, though fines were not specified.

The apex bank explained that the overhaul was necessary due to rising complaints about failed transactions, cyber fraud, and declining service quality, noting that “the goal is to build a payments system that works seamlessly for everyone, urban and rural users alike.”

Nigeria’s electronic payments landscape has grown rapidly in recent years, with 200 million cardholders and rising reliance on digital banking, but network failures, poor infrastructure, and delayed reversals have continued to undermine confidence.

The fresh guidelines, coming eight months after a revision of ATM fees, are expected to streamline service delivery, enhance transaction security, and hold banks accountable. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback ahead of the final policy adoption, which could take effect before the end of the year.

Business

Nigerian Stock Market Hits 10th Consecutive Uptrend As investors Gain N308bn

Published

2 weeks ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Stock Market recorded its 10th consecutive uptrend as investors raked in N308 billion gain on Thursday.

This comes as the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, market capitalisation, which opened at N92.490 trillion, appreciated by 0.33 per cent to close at N92.798 trillion on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index added 0.33 per cent, or 485.25 points, to close at 146,204.34, compared with 145,719.09 recorded on Wednesday.

Increased trading in Eunisell Interlinked, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Sunu Assurances, Industrial and Medical Gases, Mecure, and 27 other advancing stocks boosted market performance on Thursday.

To this end, the market breadth also closed positive with 32 gainers and 21 losers.

Further analysis showed that Eunisell Interlinked and Caverton Offshore Support Group led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N44 and N6.93 per share, respectively, while FTN Cocoa Processors led the losers’ table by 6.67 per cent, closing at N5.60 per share.

Market activity showed a decline in the number of deals and volume traded but an improvement in trade value.

Accordingly, a total of 346.99 million shares worth N27.43 billion were traded in 24,691 deals, compared with 525.72 million shares worth N13.61 billion exchanged in 25,597 deals on Wednesday.

Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 42.01 million shares valued at N861.54 million.

According to DAILY POST, NGX has continued its bullish run from last month’s end to date.