Following the Supreme Court’s decision that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should remain legal tender until December 31, some Point of Sale (PoS) operators reduced cash withdrawal charges by up to 90% yesterday, even as they began disbursement to the public.
Miss Ramota Salami, a PoS agent in Marina, stated that she has been accepting old naira notes as deposits since they ceased to be legal tender, and she now has enough cash for her business.
“I am now charging N300 for N10,000. Prior to the Supreme Court decision, the charge was N2,000 for N10,000 because getting the new and old N200 notes was difficult and I had to pay a lot of money to get them.
“With the Supreme Court’s decision, our business will be revitalized, as many of my colleagues have closed some of their locations.”
Mr. Adeniyi Peter, another PoS agent in Marina, stated, “The Supreme Court judgment is a relief to us PoS operators.”
“I now charge N500 per N10,000 and have been accepting the old N500 and N1,000 notes because some traders have been depositing their old notes since the court’s pronouncement in fear that it will be reversed, but they have helped my business by providing cash that is now legal tender.”
Traders accept old notes
Some market women and commercial transport levy collectors (Agberos) were also seen collecting old naira notes from bus drivers who were unable to spend them before they became unusable on February 10.
A bus driver enroute Agbara to CMS, Mr Sunday Okoyomo, said: “I have N10,000 of the old notes in the denominations of N500 and N1,000.
“Due to my busy schedule, I have been unable to deposit it in the bank. So I took N3,000 out of it in the hope that the Supreme Court decision would favor me and other Nigerians who still had the old money with them. That’s exactly what happened.
“I was overjoyed to learn that the Supreme Court had reversed the CBN policy.
“I just gave it to an Agberos on his way now, and he accepted it. This decision will help many people heal.”
