Cash held outside Nigeria’s banking system rose to N4.92tn in September 2026, increasing by N48.73bn from N4.87tn in August, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary data released on its website on Wednesday.
The PUNCH reports that the increase came as Nigeria’s broad money supply rose by N7.51tn to N146.6tn in September from N139.09tn in August.
The CBN data showed that narrow money, which comprises currency and highly liquid deposits, also increased from N43.11tn in August to N44.05tn in September.
Currency held outside banks refers to physical cash held outside the banking system, while broad money includes cash, demand deposits, savings and time deposits, as well as foreign currency deposits.
The rise in cash outside banks formed part of the wider expansion in money supply, which increased by 18.3 per cent from N123.95tn in January to N146.6tn in September.
The increase in money supply followed the CBN’s decision in September to cut its benchmark interest rate by 350 basis points to 23 per cent from 26.5 per cent.
The PUNCH reports that the reduction was the largest cut in the benchmark rate since December 2006.
The Monetary Policy Committee also retained the Cash Reserve Requirement for commercial banks at 45 per cent and merchant banks at 16 per cent, while maintaining the 75 per cent reserve requirement on non-Treasury Single Account public-sector deposits.
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