E-payment Reduces Currency Outside Bank — CBN

• E-payment Reduces Currency Outside Bank — CBN

The preference for electronics payment above cash is further driving down the currency outside the banks, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown.

The CBN stated, “Currency outside banks fell by 14.7 per cent to N1.51tn at end-June 2018, compared with the decline of 18.9 per cent at end-June 2017.

“This reflected increased use of electronic payments channels during the review period. As a percentage of broad money, COB constituted 6.1 per cent, compared with 6.7 per cent at the end of 2017.”

Currency-in-circulation with the CBN fell by 12.0 per cent to N1.9tn, compared with the decline of 14.0 per cent at the end of June 2017.

Bank reserves with the CBN grew by 3.1 per cent to N4.45tn, in contrast to the decline of 1.7 per cent at the end of the first half of 2017.

“As a proportion of reserve money, CIC and bank deposits constituted 29.9 and 70.1 per cent, respectively,” it added.

The apex bank further revealed that currency-in-circulation, which stood at N1.9tn as at the end of June 2018, comprising 5.59 billion pieces of banknotes and 2.31 billion pieces of coins, valued at N1.89tn and N1.60bn, respectively, represented an increase of 1.4 per cent over the level in the corresponding period of 2017.

“The growth in CIC reflected increased economic activities and the expansionary fiscal policy of the government. In value term, banknotes increased by 1.4 per cent, compared with the level in the first half of 2017, while coins remain unchanged,” it added.

In terms of composition, the CBN noted that the combined volume of N5, N10, N20 and N50 banknotes, as share of total currency in circulation in the first half of 2018, decreased to 27.0 per cent, from 30.4 per cent in the first half of 2017.

Similarly, it added that the value dropped to 1.8 per cent, from 2.0 per cent in the corresponding period of 2017.

At end-June 2018, the value of N200, N100, N20 and N10 banknotes in circulation rose by 7.2, 70.8, 6.8 and 9.1 per cent, respectively.