Naira Redesign: CBN Launches Countdown Timer

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has on Monday launched a countdown clock on its website for the January 31, 2023 deadline for the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes currently in circulation.

The apex bank said the notes currently in circulation would remain legal tender alongside the new notes from December 15, 2022, to January 31, 2023.

CBN had announced a Naira redesign policy to produce new notes for three of the naira denominations in circulation: N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

December 15, 2022, has been set as the official start day for the circulation of the new naira notes.

The highest bank said the old notes would cease to be legal tender from the January 31, 2023 deadline

The Central Bank had advised Nigerians to deposit the denominations to be redesigned to their various banks, saying that banks would be open for operations from Monday to Saturday weekly.

It also said it had suspended bank charges on deposits for the period, adding that there was no limit to the amount that could be deposited at a time.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had said there naira notes was being hoarded by members of the public, adding that statistics showed that over 80 per cent of the currency in circulation was outside the vaults of the commercial banks.