Business

They’ve Hidden Plans – Mixed Reactions Trail CBN’s New Naira Notes

Published

3 years ago

November 25, 2022

Nigerians have shared divergent opinions on the recently released new banknotes by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Wednesday announced the entry of the new notes into the country’s financial space.

The CBN boss, while explaining the features of the redesigned notes, told State House Correspondents that it was in line with global best practices, noting that it was mandatory for the naira to be redesigned and re-issued every five to eight years.

The last time the bank redesigned the naira was in 2014 when it changed the design of just the 100 naira note to commemorate Nigeria’s centenary.

According to him, it is regrettable that the naira has not been redesigned for the past 19 years owing to lack of political will from previous administrations.

“In the past, I have to confess that attempts by the CBN to redesign and re-issue the naira notes have been resisted. It is only President Muhammadu Buhari that has exhibited the courage to do so,” he stated.

Emefiele said it was the mandate of the CBN to redesign and re-issue the notes, stressing that the exercise would become a regular trend after five to eight years.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has in recent years undertaken the redesigning of her currency for various reasons.

For instance, in response to the expansion in economic activities and to facilitate an efficient payments system, the ₦100, ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes were introduced in December 1999, November 2000, April 2001 and October 2005 respectively.

On 28th February, 2007, as part of the economic reforms, ₦20 was issued for the first time in a polymer substrate, while the ₦50, ₦10 and ₦5 banknotes, as well as ₦1 and 50K coins were reissued in new designs, and the ₦2 coin was introduced.

On 30th September, 2009, the redesigned ₦50, ₦10 and ₦5 banknotes were converted to polymer substrate following the successful performance of the ₦20 (polymer) banknote. Thus, all lower denomination banknotes were now printed in the polymer substrate.

Speaking on the development, Godwin Emefiele, added that the move to introduce newly designed notes became imperative following the abnormalities bedevilling Nigerian financial, monetary and security systems.

The circulation of the new designs will begin on December 15, 2022.

But the introduction of the new naira banknotes has received a lot of reactions from Nigerians .

Some economic experts have pointed out that apart from the change in colour of the redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes, its security features have been enhanced.

But the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore knocked President Buhari and Emefiele, accusing them of playing Nigerians by redesigning the banknotes.

Sowore slammed Buhari, saying that no significant change occurred to the naira, and it seems Nigerians have been deceived again.

For Shehu Sani, a former Nigerian lawmaker, it was only a colour change that was introduced in the new notes, saying, “If it’s Naira colour, the CBN should have just engaged Snapchat.”

A senior lecturer of the Department of Economics, Kaduna State University, Professor Abdulmalik Abdulkadir, said with the current redesign of banknotes, embezzlement of public money by those in position of power, would be minimised

Speaking to Journalists in Kaduna on Wednesday, Prof Abdulmalik noted that since the new notes are yet to be in circulation, what everyone is after is how to change the old currency which may soon fade away.

According to him, some public servants in positions of authority are also scared of stealing public funds as they would be caught anytime, anywhere.

Few Nigerians, who spoke to our correspondent on the streets of Abuja, also shared their thoughts. While some of them believe that it is a good way to stop politicians from money laundering ahead of the 2023 general elections, some others feel it is a waste of time.

Jennifer Adimso said, “I’m surprised that people still believe in this government and their policies. You’re talking about preventing politicians from laundering money but that’s a lie. Who is Emefiele working for? He is working for the APC. In fact, he is a member of the APC. He was contesting for the APC presidential primary if not for the pressure from Nigerians.

“In fact he went to court to challenge Nigerians against him. He is working for his party and if anybody is planning to launder money, it is APC. You’ll see bullion vans parked in the compound of some individuals and no one will question them. I believe they have some politicians they’re targeting. They’ve concluded their plans. These people think way ahead of us. Changing the colours of the N200, N500 and N1000 notes is just another way to distract Nigerians. Nothing more.”

David Sam Ade said, “All I can say is that the colour of those banknotes have changed. I’m not an expert to know the security features but all I can tell you is that the change won’t contribute anything. Now tell me, will it change the prices of garri, rice, yam, onions and other food items in the market? Buhari and his team are bent on deceiving Nigerians. We can’t wait for their tenure to end. People are suffering and all you can do is change the colour of money. It makes no sense to me. The reason why Emefiele is still there as the CBN governor is because he’s as clueless as the President himself.”

Pastor Jewel Abianso said, “Nigerians should be prayerful. Nigeria is drifting under the current government. See, the redesigning of the naira note may be good to many of us but we may not know the idea behind it. The question is why is it happening now? They said it is to stop money laundering against the election but how do we know the other underlying reasons? When a government has established itself on deceit, it becomes difficult to know when it is taking a good measure that would be beneficial to its people. I believe Nigeria has more significant problems than changing the colour of some currency denominations. Once again, I’ll encourage Nigerians to pray hard ahead of the forthcoming elections. Let’s pray for change and to have a government we can trust.”

Meanwhile, Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had described the development as apt and commendable.

He said it was “a well-considered and timely response” to the challenges of currency management.

Business

Full List: 82 Newly Approved, Fully Licensed BDC Operators

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted final operating licences to 82 Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators under its revised regulatory framework, reinforcing warnings against transactions with unlicensed foreign exchange dealers.

In a statement on Monday, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, confirmed that the licences took effect on November 27, 2025, in accordance with the 2024 Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for BDC Operations. The guidelines require all operators to meet specified capital thresholds and regulatory conditions to qualify for licensing.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, in exercise of its powers under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and the 2024 Guidelines, has granted final licences to 82 Bureaux De Change to operate with effect from November 27, 2025,” the statement read.

The apex bank emphasised that only BDCs listed on its official website are considered fully licensed, urging the public to verify the status of any operator before engaging in foreign exchange transactions.

“While the CBN will continue to update the list of Bureaux De Change with valid operating licences for public verification on our website, the Bank advises the general public to avoid dealing with unlicensed Foreign Exchange Operators,” the statement warned.

The CBN noted that operating a BDC without a valid licence constitutes an offence under Section 57(1) of the BOFIA 2020, and confirmed that legal action would be taken against non-compliant operators.

TIER 1

1 DULA GLOBAL BDC LTD

2 TRURATE GLOBAL BDC LTD

TIER 2

1 ABBUFX BDC LTD

2 ACHA GLOBAL BDC LTD

3 ARCTANGENT SWIFT BDC LTD

4 ASCENDANT BDC LTD

5 BARACAI BDC LTD

6 BERGPOINT BDC LTD

7 BRAVO MODEL BDC LTD

8 BRIMESTONE BDC LTD

9 BROWNSTON BDC LTD

10 BUZZWALLET BDC LTD

11 CASHCODE BDC LTD

12 CHATTERED BDC LTD

13 CHRONICLES BDC LTD

14 COOL FOREX BDC LTD

15 CORPORATE EXCHANGE BDC LTD

16 COURTESY CURRENCY BDC LTD

17 DANYARO BDC LTD

18 DASHAD BDC LTD

19 DEVAL BDC LTD

20 DFS BDC LTD

21 EASY CASH BDC LTD

22 ELELEM BDC LTD

23 E-LIOYDS BDC LTD

24 ELOGOZ BDC LTD

25 ENOUF BDC LTD

26 EVER JOJ GOLD BDC LTD

27 EXCEL RIJIYA FOREX BDC LTD

28 FABFOREX BDC LTD

29 FELLOM BDC LTD

30 FINE BDC LTD

31 FOMAT BDC LTD

32 GENELO BDC LTD

33 GENTLE BREEZE BDC LTD

34 GRACEFUL GLORY AND HUMILITY BDC LTD

35 GREENGATE BDC LTD

36 GREENVAULT BDC LTD

37 HAZON CAPITAL BDC LTD

38 HIGH-POINT BDC LTD

39 I & I EXCHANGE BDC LTD

40 IBN MARYAM BDC LTD

41 JOURNEY WELL BDC LTD

42 KEEPERS BDC LTD

43 KHADHOUSE SOLUTIONS BDC LTD

44 KIMMELFX BDC LTD

45 KINGSOFT ATLANTIC BDC LTD

46 M.S. ALHERI BDC LTD

47 MASTERS BDC LTD

48 MCMENA BDC LTD

49 MKOO BDC LTD

50 MKS BDC LTD

51 MR J GOLF BDC LTD

52 MUSDIQ BDC LTD

53 MZ FOREX BDC LTD

54 NEJJ BDC LTD LTD

55 NETVALUE BDC LTD

56 NEW WAVE BDC LTD

57 NOTABLE AND KINGSTON BDC LTD

58 PILCROW BDC LTD

59 RAPID BDC LTD

60 RIGHTWAY BDC LTD

61 RWANDA BDC LTD

62 SABLES BDC LTD

63 SAFETRANZ BDC LTD

64 SAMFIK BDC LTD

65 SEVENLOCKS BDC LTD

66 SHAPEARL BDC LTD

67 SIMTEX BDC LTD

68 SOLID WHITE BDC LTD

69 ST. NICHOLAS GLOBAL BDC LTD

70 TOPFIRST UNIQUE MULTICHOICE BDC LTD

71 TOPGATE BDC LTD

72 TRAVELLER’S CHOICE BDC LTD

73 TUCA GLOBAL BDC LTD

74 TURBOVA BDC LTD

75 TURN-UP BDC LTD

76 UNIGO BDC LTD

77 VICTORY AHEAD BDC LTD

78 WHITEWAY WWW BDC LTD

79 YUND GLOBAL LINK BDC LTD

80 ZAMAD FOREX BDC LTD

Business

CBN Issues 82 New BDC Licences, Moves To Curb Unregistered FX Operators

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted final operating licences to 82 Bureaux De Change (BDC) under its updated regulatory framework and cautioned members of the public against engaging with unlicensed foreign exchange operators.

In a statement issued on Monday and signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, the Bank said the licences became effective on 27 November 2025. The approvals were granted under the 2024 Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for BDC Operations in Nigeria.

The CBN stressed that only BDCs listed on its official website are recognised as licensed operators. It encouraged the public to verify the licensing status of BDCs before engaging in any foreign exchange transactions.

The Bank reiterated that running a BDC without proper authorisation constitutes an offence under Section 57(1) of the BOFIA 2020. It stated that enforcement actions would be taken against violators.

The licensing exercise forms part of the CBN’s broader initiative to reform the foreign exchange market and ensure that only compliant operators participate in the sector. Under the 2024 guidelines, which took effect in June 2024,
all BDCs are required to reapply for Tier 1 or Tier 2 licences.

The guidelines stipulate minimum capital requirements of ₦2 billion for Tier 1 and ₦500 million for Tier 2, along with non-refundable licensing fees of ₦5 million and ₦2 million, respectively.

The CBN said it would continue its efforts to maintain order and transparency in the foreign exchange market.

Business

JUST IN: CBN Removes Cash Deposit Limits, Raises Weekly Withdrawal To N500,000

Published

1 week ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed cash deposit limits and also increased the weekly cash withdrawal limit from N100,000 to N500,000.

The CBN made this known in a circular to all banks and other financial institutions, signed by Dr Rita Sike, Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

Sike said that the revisions formed part of ongoing efforts to moderate the rising cost of cash management and address security concerns.

According to her, it will also curb money laundering risks associated with heavy reliance on cash.

She said that the cash-related policies previously issued in response to evolving circumstances were aimed at reducing cash usage and promoting the adoption of electronic payment channels.

“However, with time, the need to streamline and update these provisions to reflect present-day realities became necessary,” she said.

She said that with effect from Jan. 1, 2026, the cumulative deposit limit would be removed and the fee previously charged on excess deposits would no longer apply.

The director said that the cumulative weekly withdrawal limit across all channels has been reviewed to N500,000 for individuals and five million Naira for corporates.

“Withdrawals above these thresholds will attract excess withdrawal charges as specified,” she said. “The special monthly authorisation that allowed individuals to withdraw five million Naira and corporates N10 million once a month has been abolished.”

She said that for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), daily withdrawal remains capped at N100,000 per customer, with a maximum of N500,000 weekly.

She said that this formed part of the overall weekly withdrawal limit applicable to all channels, including point-of-sale (POS) transactions.

Sike said that excess withdrawals above the stipulated limits would attract three per cent for individuals and five per cent for corporate customers.

According to her, this will be shared in the ratio of 40 per cent to the CBN and 60 per cent to the operating bank or financial institution.

She directed banks to load all currency denominations in ATMs, while the existing limit on over-the-counter encashment of third-party cheques remains pegged at N100,000.

Sike said that such withdrawals would be counted as part of the cumulative weekly limit.

The director said that banks were also required to render monthly returns to the relevant supervisory departments.

She listed the departments to include the Banking Supervision Department, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, and the Payments System Supervision Department.

Sike said that revenue-generating accounts of federal, state, and local governments were exempted from the new withdrawal rules.

She said that accounts of microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks held with commercial and non-interest banks are also exempted from the new rules.

She, however, said that the long-standing exemption previously enjoyed by embassies, diplomatic missions, and aid-donor agencies had been removed.