New Naira note scarcity persists despite CBN assurances
Apart from the black market for foreign currency, a new parallel market for the local currency, the Naira has emerged, triggered by the New Naira note scarcity.
Nigeria Today reports that through the weekend until Monday, PoS operators and other racketeers charged between N300 and N500 per N1000.
While the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN continues to insist that it has supplied enough of the new Naira notes, Banks continue to make excuses that they do not have enough to go around.
The new Naira note scarcity has caused long queues at some cash machines that dispense them. Those who could not endure the long queues resort to the black market at unfairly determined rates.
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Some of the currency dealers who spoke to Punch in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Lagos, Anambra, and other states, Punch said they sold “N10,000 for N13,000 and N20, 000 for N26,000”.
“I will provide all the denominations you want. I have N200, N500, and N1,000 new naira notes,’’ he offered,” the dealer boasted.
Read also, CBN hauls N1.9 trillion into banking system in 90 days
What the dealers are saying
When asked if he could supply N600,000 new notes, he promised to notify the correspondent when the notes were available for collection.
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He said, “The new notes are very scarce and that is why we charge more. Getting the new notes is very tough and expensive for us. The issue of changing the notes has caused a lot of problems. There is high demand for it. I get the notes at very expensive rates too.
“It is also not available at banks because people are rushing to buy it there; we are not enjoying the business at this time.
“We sell a bundle of 200 notes for N300,000; N500 is even cheaper than that. Some get it from the bank but it gets exhausted quickly.”
A currency exchange operator, who preferred anonymity, explained that the currency exchangers maintain a relationship with bank staff, adding, however, that they do not pay for the currencies, except by way of incentives or when there is an increase in demand.
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“Currency exchangers basically form relationships with bank staff. If I need an amount, all I do is put a call through to my contact in the bank, ask for the availability of what I need, find out the buy rate, and buffer it by N5-N10 to resell.
“Most times, we don’t offer the bank staff anything. We just give incentives once in a while. Except there is high demand and limited supply, that’s when they can demand something. N50,000 mint (new notes), for example, could resell for about N53,000 or N60, 000, at most,’’ he explained.