Old N200, N500, N1,000 Banknotes Remain Legal Tender, Says CBN

The CBN encouraged Nigerians to handle all naira banknotes with care and to embrace electronic channels as alternative payment methods, reducing pressure on the physical currency system.

Abuja, Nigeria – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes will remain legal tender indefinitely, countering recent rumors of a December 31, 2024 deadline for their use.

In a statement issued on Thursday by Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali Hakama, the CBN dismissed the deadline as “false and aimed at disrupting the country’s payment system.” The bank affirmed the Supreme Court’s ruling, which permits the indefinite use of the old series of banknotes in tandem with their redesigned counterparts.

This confirmation comes amid continued public debate over the CBN’s 2022 currency redesign initiative under the former Governor Godwin Emefiele. The policy aimed to replace the old N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations with new versions by January 31, 2023. However, it led to severe cash shortages and inconvenience across the country as millions struggled to access the new notes.

In May 2023, President Bola Tinubu stepped in shortly after his inauguration, relaxing the policy to ease the challenges Nigerians were facing.

Despite recent calls by the House of Representatives for the CBN to ensure a wider distribution of the new notes and a gradual phase-out of the old series, the CBN has clarified that it has no plans to set a deadline. The bank has also reaffirmed its directive for branches nationwide to continue issuing and accepting both old and redesigned banknotes from deposit money banks.

“The CBN’s directive to all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit money banks remains in force,” the statement read. “We advise members of the public to disregard suggestions that these banknotes will cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024.”

The CBN encouraged Nigerians to handle all naira banknotes with care and to embrace electronic channels as alternative payment methods, reducing pressure on the physical currency system.

The apex bank’s statement aims to reassure the public amid concerns and rumors, confirming that all Nigerian banknotes will continue to be accepted indefinitely for transactions across the country.