May 14, 2026

CBN Denies Authorizing Banks to Collect Old N500 and N1,000 Banknotes

By Farouk Mohammed

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned members of the public to disregard fake messages circulating on social media about the authorization of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to collect old N500 and N1,000 banknotes from the public.

In a statement issued today, the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, stated that the bank had only been directed by the President to reissue and recirculate the old N200 banknotes as legal tender for a period of 60 days until April 10, 2023.

“Members of the public should, therefore, disregard any message and/or information not formally released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on this subject,” Nwanisobi said.

The CBN’s denial of the rumors comes after fake and unauthorized messages had been circulating on social media, causing confusion among the public.

Nwanisobi, in the statement, urged Nigerians to ignore such messages and rely only on official communications from the central bank.

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