Home West Africa Nigeria rolls out new currency note to address large-scale counterfeiting

West Africa

Nigeria rolls out new currency note to address large-scale counterfeiting

November 25, 2022

(3 minutes read)

Nigeria has rolled out new banknotes in an effort to fight counterfeiting and the financing of Islamist groups. Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari said the new naira bank notes would help to control liquidity in an economy where the most money is held outside the banking system

The 200 (5 U.S. cents), 500 ($1.10) and 1,000 nairas ($2.20) notes are being replaced. The redesigned notes which are produced in Nigeria by Nigeria Security Printing and Minting have new security features. Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said that the step would help fast-tracking financial inclusion.

However, experts are skeptical about such results in a country that has battled chronic corruption for decades. They believe that for the issuance of new banknotes to yield the expected results, the implementation of institutional reforms was necessary. The inflation in the west African country is at a 17-year high at 21.09% riding on the back of high consumer prices, particularly food prices. Experts point out that more than 80% of the 3.2 trillion nairas (US$7.2 billion) in circulation in Nigeria are outside the vaults of commercial banks and in private hands.

The central bank of Nigeria may announce plans to issue the new notes to the public from December 15, 2022, and the public has till January 31, 2023, to hand in their old notes.