CBN To Investigate, Sanction Commercial Banks ATM Dispensing Fake Naira Notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced operations to monitor Automated Teller Machines ATMs via withdrawals, saying  any commercial bank  identified to possess fake currency notes in their dispensing machines would be heavily sanctioned.

CBN also disclosed that there are about 8.88 billion pieces of various denominations of the Naira notes in circulation as the beginning March 2019.

Department of Currency Operations of the CBN, Mrs Elizabeth Kwaghe, who disclosed this in Makurdi on Tuesday explained that the money in circulation is worth N2.15 billion.

She spoke at the CBN Fair tagged: “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Empowered”

The CBN official accused  commercial banks for the huge quantity of mutilated currency notes in circulation, adding that customers should endeavour to return such notes given out to them back to their bankers.

Kwaghe noted that the reason large sums of cash were in circulation was because transactions within the country were mostly done in cash.

She advised customers that in the event that the commercial banks would not collect such notes from them and that customers should not hesitate to report to the CBN as the apex bank was bound to intervene.

While she also blamed the public for the abuse of naira notes, she urged members of the public to threat the Nigerian currency, which is the face of the country, with pride.

Kwaghe, who told the gathering that the cost of printing each naira note was higher than the value of the notes, said it was even advisable for more people to engage in electronic banking.

Also speaking at the occasion, Waiola Ajakaiye of the CBN, Payment System Management Department, pointed out that CBN was advocating the reduction in use of cash in doing business because of the cost of producing currency and security risk involved was higher.

He also said the CBN was evolving ways of reducing cost of banking, insisting that the cost of banking should be borne by the commercial banks, rather than customers

The Coordinator of the Fair, Sam Okogbue, noted the need to educate small and medium business owners in the state on their right to know what deductions were made from their accounts.

He explained that the Fair was also organised by CBN on steps to take to seek redress when they noted certain anomalies on their accounts.

Okogbue noted that among other issues was that the CBN saw the need to intervene in areas that would lead to poverty reduction, growth in the economy as well as service delivery.