By Adedapo Adesanya
In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy for clean and healthy Naira notes, top financial institution, Access Bank Plc, has called on its customers to return damaged notes for better ones.
The bank urged its customers to exchange banknotes of any Naira denomination which fall between the categories of ‘over-circulated’ or ‘damaged’, to any of its branches nationwide on or before Friday, August 30, 2019.
Damaged banknotes, according to the bank, are currencies which been partially or permanently damaged by agents such as fire, water, dye, or even by natural use.
It was further noted that over-circulated banknotes are those passed from multiple hands to another which tend to disintegrate when handled, therefore rendering processing difficult.
As a caveat, the bank stated that the banknotes that would be exchanged should contain the complete serial numbers showing same details on the top left corner and bottom right corner of the note.
According to a statement released by the bank to its customers on Wednesday morning, the lender noted that the CBN’s clean-note policy was aimed at ensuring a clean, healthy, and safe cash handling culture for Nigerians.
Business Post gathered that over circulated Naira notes contain microbial contamination such as Escherichia coli, Aerobacter, yeast cells among other microorganisms.