Banks break their silence on ‘hoarding new naira notes’ following CBN policy

Nigerian banks disputed charges that they were fueling the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes around the country on Monday.

The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks, or ACAMB, expressed sympathy to the public for the difficulties caused by the introduction of the new notes and reviewed cashless policy.

In a statement made accessible to DAILY POST, President Rasheed Bolarinwa stated that banks could not be the stumbling block to progress when they had already put nearly N100 billion in the system.

Bolarinwa stated that the fund has been used in recent years to establish and maintain cutting-edge electronic channels as part of the company’s continued commitment to seamless customer experience and real-time digital financial transactions.

He stated that 80 percent of Nigerians today enjoy digital/cashless services, ranging from internet banking to mobile apps, Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, Point of Sales, PoS, merchants, mobile wallets, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, USSD, codes, agents, and digital franchise.

According to ACAMB, the promises have resulted in Nigeria continuously developing and being recognized as having perhaps Africa’s most sophisticated digital financial services business as well as one of the world’s top ten real-time payment markets.

The financial institutions declared their complete support for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) improved cashless strategy.

Bolarinwa stated that they were cooperating with the regulator and other stakeholders to overcome implementation challenges as soon as possible and to guarantee that citizens experienced no adverse effects during the transition period.

“ACAMB assures unequivocally that banks are not hoarding or withholding naira notes or participating in any act contrary to our professed commitment to exciting customer experiences.”

According to Bolarinwa, ATMs are loaded on a regular basis, and cash is distributed under the supervision of CBN Inspectors and anti-graft authorities.

Additional measures included the deployment of additional technical support for online payments, increased security at ATMs for round-the-clock use, technological backup to reduce online downtime, additional staff deployment to handle cash transactions, and timely interbank and inter-branch networking.

The statement expressed optimism that the measures, in addition to efforts of the CBN, “would result in enhanced ease of access and cash liquidity”.

ACAMB, on the other hand, urged clients to be patient and refrain from resorting to violence against any bank, its workers, or banking facilities.

It reminded them that many banks are public corporations owned by millions of Nigerians and employ tens of thousands of people to provide dependable and secure services.