Despite the scarcity of cash in the country which has seen banks limit the amount customers can withdraw from Automated Teller Machines(ATMs) and over the counter, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that nearly all the currency in circulation is already outside banks.
Latest data shows that , of the N3.347 trillion currency in circulation (CIC) as at November 2023, N3.081 trillion is already outside of banks representing 92.05 per cent of the currency in circulation.
This is a jump from N2.696 trillion that was outside the banking system in October last year when CIC was N3.01 trillion.
In January last year at the height of the currency redesign, currency in circulation stood at N1.386 trillion with the percentage of the cash outside the banks standing at 57 per cent at N792.184 billion. By February, the cash outside banks rose to N843.311 billion representing 85.9 per cent of the N982.097 billion that was in circulation.
By March, the percentage had dropped to 85.8 per cent with N1.445 trillion of the N1.683 trillion CIC, outside the banking system. As the currency in circulation rose to N2.379 trillion in April, the currency outside banks rose to 87.3 per cent at N2.078 trillion.
In May, the percentage dropped to 86.2 per cent as cash outside banks stood at N2.177 trillion out of the N2.526 trillion CIC. By June the currency outside banks further rose to N2.263 trillion, which is 86.9 per cent of the N2.603 trillion that is CIC.
July saw a decline in cash supply as currency outside the banks as well as CIC dropped to N2.206 trillion and N2.595 trillion respectively, with the percentage also dropping to 85 per cent. The uptick resumed in August with the percentage of cash outside banks which was N2.223 trillion dropped to 83.6 per cent of the N2.66 trillion CIC.
The uptick continued in September with N2.761 trillion CIC of which 87.5 per cent, N2.416 trillion was outside the banking system.
A review of the 11 months period showed that November 2023 marked the highest recorded levels for both currency in circulation and currency outside banks, with the percentage of money outside the banks concerning CIC reaching a peak of 92 per cent.
