Commercial banks rejecting old dollar notes have come under the threat of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The latter in a circular its acting director of currency operations department, Solaja Olayemi, signed, threatened to sanction Deposit Money Banks, Bureau De Change operators and the general public found rejecting old series and lower denominations of the United States of American dollars.
The circular directed at Deposit Money Banks, Bureau De Change operators and the general public cautioned against the continued rejection of the said notes.
The apex bank added the circular is born out of market intelligence, which revealed the continued rejection of old/lower denominations of dollar bills by banks and other authorised forex dealers.
The statement partly read, “Kindly be reminded that the Central Bank of Nigeria circular referenced COD/DIR/INT/CIR/001/002 and dated 9th April 2021, which explicitly frowned at this selective acceptance of deposit, is still in force and must be adhered to and complied with by all relevant parties.
“For the avoidance of doubt and further guidance on the circular, the content is hereby reissued as follows for strict compliance: All DMBs /authorized forex dealers should henceforth accept both old series and lower denominations of United States Dollars that are legal tender for deposit from their customers. The CBN will not hesitate to sanction any DMB or authorised forex dealers who refuse to accept old series/lower denominations of US Dollar bills from their customers.”
