The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken steps to ease the prolonged cash crunch that has made life difficult for millions of Nigerians and residents by releasing billions of naira to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) over the past weekend.
The CBN has directed banks to open their branches over the weekend and dispense cash via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and over-the-counter to customers.
Many banks have complied with the CBN’s directive, as evidenced by the opening of several bank branches and the availability of cash to customers.
While some banks have sent emails to their customers, notifying them of the weekend operations, most branches of banks in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, and other states have attended to customers both in the banking hall and via ATM.
Many customers have been able to withdraw up to N20,000 over-the-counter, while holders of other banks’ ATMs have been able to withdraw N5,000 only. Some bank branches have also loaded their ATMs with both old and new naira notes.
The move has been greeted with mixed reactions, with some Nigerians welcoming the development, while others have expressed concerns about the quality of the old naira notes dispensed. However, for most Nigerians, the kind of naira notes dispensed doesn’t matter as long as they can spend the cash.
Checks by Investors King show that ATMs of Zenith Bank, PremiumTrust Bank, GTB, Unity Bank and Access Bank branches at Redemption Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were flooded with cash.
However, because of the compliance level, we observed that there were no long queues, even after the Sunday service attributed to rush as bank customers were allowed to walk in to perform their normal transactions. Also, both old and new naira notes were dispensed.