President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration will not go back on the plan of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the nation’s highest currency notes of N1,000, N500, and N200.

Buhari said this on Wednesday evening in London, UK, shortly after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham palace.

The president said the naira redesign policy announced last month by the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, will be implemented.

As the government backs CBN on the naira redesign policy, there are things all Nigerians should know about the programme.

According to the various information from the CBN and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), here are things to know.

Reasons for new banknotes
This will help in controlling currency in circulation and tighten the money supply to address the issue of rising inflation which hit a 17-year high in September 2022.

It will address the hoarding of banknotes by members of the public with over 80% of currency in circulation outside the vaults of commercial banks.

It is designed to take care of the worsening shortage of clean and fit banknotes.

It is also meant to tackle the issue of counterfeiting of Naira notes proved by several reports.

Also, it is to minimise the incidence of terrorism and kidnapping as access to large sums of cash used for ransom will be reduced.

It is created to develop CBN’s drive to entrench a cashless economy and financial inclusion (Banking the unbanked)

Finally, it is an economic mechanism to strengthen the naira.

What you need to know
CBN will change the current N200, N500 and N1000 currency denominations to new currency notes.

The new currency notes will go into circulation on December 15, 2022.

The old Naira notes will cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2023.

Banks have been advised to keep all their deposit centres open from Monday to Saturday going forward for collections.

There are no restrictions to how much individuals or corporate entities can deposit and no bank customer shall bear any charges for cash returned/paid into their accounts during the implementation.

New cashless policy to be announced in January 2023.

What you need to do
Visit your nearest bank branch to deposit all old banknotes (N200, N500 and N1000)

If you do not have a bank account, visit the nearest bank branch of your choice to open one and deposit all old banknotes (N200, N500 and N1000).

Perform normal bank transactions with your bank app or USSD.

Source: CBN, CIBN