Access Bank, United Bank of Africa, First City Monument Bank, First Bank, and Zenith Bank, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have commenced the distribution of the new Naira notes, tagged “Cash Swap,” across rural Communities in Bayelsa State.
Launching the campaign in Yenagoa, an Assistant Director of CBN, Mr. Wole Omosuyi, said that they have deployed over 300 Point Of Sale (POS) agents to distribute the new Naira notes across seven out of eight Local Government Areas of the state except Yenagoa that has the presence of 17 banks.
Explaining further, he said that the campaign would last till 31st January 2023 and that individuals would have the opportunity to swap their old Naira notes for new ones based on N10,000 daily.
To help those who are yet to open an account in Communities where there are no banks, he said that the agent had been empowered with BVN machines to process their account registration.
Omosuyi, who works with the CBN in Abuja, says the new Naira note policy aims to reduce minimal use of cash and that only those who acquired their wealth illegally would be afraid to bring their old notes to the bank for cash swap.
In terms of logistics and security, he said that “the agents are familiar with the terrain of Bayelsa. They are Bayelsans who understand the local language of the people. For their safety, the agents would be traveling on Naval protected boats to Communities that are not accessible by road.
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“The CBN is doing all these because the deadline, 31st January 2023, will not change, and we want to encourage all Nigerians to ensure that they change their old notes to new ones, as the Apex bank will not change the date.”
