Mr Musa Jimoh, Director, Payment Systems Management Department at the bank stated in Jos after visiting some ATMs on Thursday in Jos that the effort was commendable.
Jimoh said that the monitoring was aimed at ensuring that banks and Nigerians complied with the new policy introduced by the Federal Government through the CBN.
“Every Nigerian is aware that the deadline to phase out the old notes is Jan. 31, so the banks are pushing out the new currency, but we must ensure that they are doing that across all ATMs
“’ATMs are the only democratic way through which you can serve the currency to all Nigerians because it doesn’t discriminate; ATM doesn’t know who a big or small customer is and that is why we are targeting the ATMs.
“So far, all the ATMs we have been to are dispensing the new notes of different denominations and it is very impressive.
“We hope that this will continue from now henceforth and banks will sustain the tempo,’’ Jimoh said.
The director, who pledged that the CBN would continue to support commercial banks to achieve the new policy, warned that defaulting banks would be sanctioned accordingly.
“CBN regulates all the banks; we are providing all the necessary support and ensuring that we push the new notes to them, so any bank that defaults will face the sanction of the CBN as usual.
“Nigerians should bring back their old notes to banks and take new ones, because by Jan. 31, it will no longer be acceptable as legal tender,’’ he stressed.
Jimoh and his team also sensitised traders at the Building Materials Market, Jos, about the rationale for introducing the new notes.
He explained that the sensitisation had afforded the CBN the opportunity to further explain the features of the new notes to Nigerians.
The sensitisation would enable people to identify fake notes when they see the, he stressed.
Responding, Mr Fidelis Nwazuruke, chairman of the market, thanked the CBN officials for taking out time to visit and sensitise traders on the new policy.
“This meeting is an eye-opener for us because it has further cleared all our doubts about the new naira notes.
“We thank the CBN for coming to tell us all that we need to know about this policy and we believe it is for the greater good of all us.
“I will ensure that all my members adhere to the advice and warnings of the CBN on this new policy,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN officials inspected the ATMs of Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, and United Bank for Africa, among others.