Emefiele who was represented by Mr Kofo Salam-Alada, Director, Legal Services Department, CBN, said that the apex bank was seriously working to ensure that the new notes permeated everywhere.
He said that the apex bank was currently going round commercial banks to monitor banks and their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to ensure that they stopped paying customers the new naira notes over the counter but via the ATMs.
Emefiele said: “part of what we are doing is that we have monitors going around the banks now, I have been to some ATMs this morning and I’ve lodged a report and I’ve spoken to the management of the various banks.”
He also said that penalties await any bank which failed to come and pick up the new notes and failure to lodge money into their ATM machines.
He assured the marketers that the experiences they’ve been having would soon be sorted out, as he urged them to call these numbers- 08176657641, 08176657642, 08176656721, 07080650791, and send messages to [email protected], should they have any problem accessing the new notes.
Emefiele reiterated that the Jan. 31 deadline for the submission of the old naira notes was sacrosanct, urging people to go and deposit their old notes and not to be caught unawares.
He urged people to also make use of the enaira and other electronic channels to transact their banking business, adding that the apex bank was already taking steps to increase the number of merchants to good position where enaira would become acceptable.
The President of the Coalition of Associations in Computer Village, Mr Timmy David, urged the CBN to enforce their mandate by ensuring that the new notes were accessible before the deadline.
“There should be no banks that should not be given the new naira notes from the ATMs, all ATMs should load the new naira notes.
“As we are giving the old notes, we should be able to take back the new notes; this will enable people to transact their day to day business. If the machines are not dispensing the new notes, then it will not circulate,’’ he said.
