The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from the public with immediate effect.

However, it set the maximum amount the banks may take in at N500,000.

The CBN argued that the previous currencies were no longer accepted as legal money.

According to a bank source, the CBN instructed the banks to collect the funds instead of bringing them to the CBN office because of access issues.

A CBN official said, “Go to your bank but fill out the form before you go. Go with the reference code you generate. With your code, banks will collect it from you. But if it is more than 500,000, you will go to the CBN and deposit it.”

Earlier, the CBN opened a portal on its website and made it mandatory for those willing to return old notes to fill and generate a code.

On Thursday, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, ordered the banks to make the old N200 notes available to Nigerians.

This was after the President Muhammadu Buhari, said the old N200 note would be legal tender till April 10, 2023, while urging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the CBN.

However, protests which had been rocking different states over the scarcity of the new naira notes made the CBN order banks to collect higher denominations after meeting with banks’ leaders.