The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it will take tough actions against Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) that reject old and small denominations of the US dollar.
In a circular issued by the apex bank’s ag. director of the Currency Operations Department, Mohammed Solaja, CBN’s market intelligence had revealed the continued rejection of such dollar bills by DMBs describing it as unacceptable.
That CBN’s previous circular number COD/DIR/INT/001//002, dated April 9, 2021, remained in force and its provisions would be applied against any bank or authorised foreign dealer who contravened the guidelines.
In the new circular, dated June 27, 2024, CBN maintained that all parties must adhere to its directives—saying all DMBs and authorised foreign exchange dealers must accept old series and small denominations of the US dollar from customers for deposit.
On measures regarding non-adherence to its directives, the statement reads, “The Central Bank of Nigeria will not hesitate to sanction any DMB or authorised foreign exchange dealer who refuses to accept old series/lower denominations of the US Dollar bills from their customers.
“In addition, all authorised foreign exchange dealers are advised to desist from defacing/stamping US Banknotes as such notes always fail authentication test during processing/sorting.”
