Nigerian Central Bank Warns Financial Institutions Against Rejecting Old or Lower Denomination US Dollars

The Central Bank of Nigeria warned local financial institutions against rejecting older or lower-denomination U.S. dollar banknotes. The apex bank said it will take strong action against financial institutions that refuse to accept mutilated or overcirculated local currency banknotes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has informed registered financial institutions that rejecting older or lower-denomination U.S. dollar banknotes is still discouraged. In a circular released on June 27, the apex bank emphasized that deposit money banks (DMBs) and authorized foreign exchange dealers must continue accepting older and lower-denomination U.S. dollar bills as legal tender for customer deposits.

This warning comes approximately two years after the CBN issued a similar circular in response to customer complaints about the rejection of older or lower-denomination banknotes. At that time, the CBN pledged to sanction entities involved in this practice.

Additionally, the CBN has cautioned forex dealers about unspecified sanctions if they refuse to accept such U.S. banknotes.

“In addition, all authorized forex dealers are advised to desist from the defacing/stamping U.S. banknotes as such notes will always fail authentication test during processing/sorting,” the CBN said.

In a separate warning, the CBN announced that it will take strong action against financial institutions that refuse to accept mutilated or overcirculated local currency banknotes. A July 2, 2019 circular explicitly warned against this practice and remains in effect.

The CBN said it intends to enforce strict sanctions against DMBs that reject naira banknotes, regardless of the pretext.

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