The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a warning against Deposit Money banks as well as Point of Sales (POS) merchants over the hoarding of cash in the country.
This was contained in a circular signed by CBN’s acting director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, on Thursday.
The apex bank said there is an alleged collusion between the banks and PoS merchants disrupting the seamless circulation of the naira notes.
Furthermore, Sidi-Ali stated that the public should report cases of unauthorized activities such as hoarding of cash by banks or POS merchants to the CBN in their location or use the portal on released by the apex bank.
The CBN said,
- “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to alleged cases of Collusion between some Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Point-Of-Sale (PoS) operators Affecting the availability of cash and disrupting the seamless circulation of the Naira.
- “The CBN frowns at such inappropriate actions by certain individuals and is investigating the
- “Reported cases capable of undermining the smooth running of the economy.
- “The CBN has, therefore, warned banks and PoS operators to desist from such activities as
- “Relevant sanctions shall be meted out to those found wanting.
- “Meanwhile, members of the public are encouraged to use alternative payment channels as well as report any case of unauthorized activities, such as capping and hoarding, by banks or PoS agents to the CBN branch in their locations or via the link: https://forms.office.com/r/frZJ0f2hFQ to address complaints and inquiries on the subject.”
CBN Cautions Banks, PoS Operators Over Availability of The Naira
…Provides Digital Feedback Box To Address Complaints…https://t.co/oc922XjiM3 pic.twitter.com/JHa2Fceliw— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) December 21, 2023
Backstory
Earlier, sources reported that the Minister of Information during a media briefing at Abuja on Thursday noted that the CBN is working to address the naira scarcity in the country.
He said the cash crunch is not a deliberate action from the CBN, but some people hoarding cash to allow the seamless flow of economic activities in the country.
The minister said:
- “About naira scarcity, our government is aware that there is this cry by Nigerians about the scarcity of Naira notes and CBN is already working in that direction. New notes and more will be produced and Nigerians will have more Naira to spend.
- “It is not a deliberate policy to stifle Nigerians or to take Naira out of Nigerians during the Godwin Emefiele days. That is not the case. It is a process perhaps that the CBN is undertaking that has created a temporary shortfall and we are hoping that as we go into the New Year, we’ll see a more robust supply of the naira nodes.
