Cash Swap: Access, First bank, Three Others Picked, As CBN Ignores Lagos, Abuja Operators

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has chosen 5 money deposit banks to participate in its cash swap initiative which excludes Lagos and Abuja PoS operators.

The development comes as the deadline for the expiration of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes as legal tender approaches.

This was made known through a statement released by CBN on Monday where it detailed the procedure for the cash swap programme.

The banks chosen for the initiative include Access Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank, First City Monument Bank, and United Bank for Africa.

According to the directive by the CBN, not all agents can participate as the initiative is open to only selected agents profiled by super agents or Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and participating banks.

The bank added that selected agents in all the states in Nigeria, excluding Lagos and Abuja, can participate in the programme.

The statement said agents can obtain the new notes from the selected banks but they must have accounts with the banks, and their super agents must have pre-registered the operator with the bank where they have accounts.

However, to participate, agents need Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the operator’s name before the new notes can be issued, the participating banks should also verify the agent’s picture and fingerprint. Agents must also have completed the KYC levels for the operator which include name, phone number, bank, account number, and amount.

The document also stated that there is no limit to the amount a customer can deposit but restricts withdrawals to N10,000 per customer under the cash swap scheme.

The bank vowed to penalise banks that continue to issue old naira notes or dispense the same through their ATMs.