New Naira Notes: Banks will now be open on Saturdays and until 6 p.m. in preparation for the introduction of the new notes.

Nigerian banks have begun operating on Saturdays and announced longer business hours.

Many Nigerian banks have started banking operations on Saturdays, following in the steps of Fidelity Bank, the only bank so far complying with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directives.

Also, the banks have announced the extension of banking hours to 6 pm as against the usual time.

[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=5 layout=1]

The development comes as the CBN announced that President Muhammadu Buhari would unveil the new naira notes on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, in Abuja.

According a BusinessDay report, Fidelity Bank had notified its customers that all its branches would open by 8 am and close by 6 pm on weekdays and Saturdays, primarily for cash deposits.

Fidelity said:

“Following the CBN announcement on the currency redesign exercise, please note that we have reviewed our working hours. You are encouraged to continue to use our e-channels to transact conveniently.”

The bank is the only one in Nigeria which began Saturday banking and extension of hours.
The Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced on Tuesday after the MPC meeting that President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil the new notes.

He also said that the CBN will limit the circulation of N500 and N1000 notes and said their glut in the system is partly responsible for inflation in the country.

Emefiele stated that the date for the launch of the new notes remains sacrosanct. He said:

“We are no longer waiting for December 15 to unveil the new note, the president has agreed to unveil the new currency on November 23, 2022,” he said.

The apex bank has asked all deposit money banks to keep their currency processing centres open for their customers on Saturday for cash deposits.