TheCable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says non-customers of microfinance banks can now exchange as high as N10,000 to smaller currencies from the banks.

According to a statement released on Thursday by Isaac Okorafor, CBN’s director of corporate communications, the apex bank will disburse lower denominations of the Naira through microfinance banks (MFBs) across the country.

Okorafor said this development was contained in a circular issued by Patricia Eleje, director, currency operations department.

He explained that the circular indicated that all microfinance banks must have a composite risk rating (CRR) of above average in the most recent risk-based supervision (RBS) target examination before they were considered for the scheme.

He explained that the measure was to ensure that only MFBs with good corporate governance practices took part.

“Meanwhile, the participating MFBs must be willing to accept a mixture of new and other banknotes, and that the MFBs shall give 20 per cent of any withdrawal in lower denomination notes subject to a maximum of N50,000,” he said.

“Where beneficiaries withdraw more than once in a day, the circular said that disbursement will only apply to one transaction per day.

“Similarly, the MFBs are allowed to exchange notes subject to a maximum of N50,000 for customers with bank accounts and N10,000 for customers without bank accounts.

“In that situation, the banks must not exchange for the same beneficiaries more than once a week.”

According to him, MFBs are to maintain a register of amounts received from the CBN through their correspondent commercial banks.

Okorafor said MFBs must also maintain another register of the beneficiaries of the lower denomination notes as well as ensure that withdrawal teller slips contain a breakdown of the denomination of the currency to customers with accounts.

“The circular also warned MFBs against hawking, hoarding or using of funds obtained under the intervention for any other purpose,” he said.

“It also instructed the banks to put in place effective control measures that will ensure that banknotes disbursed to customers with or without accounts are not sold.

“Furthermore, the circular directed the banks to render weekly and monthly disbursement return to CBN branches where the intervention would be monitored periodically, and appropriate sanctions applied to erring MFBs.”