Banks to Offer Skeletal Service During 14-day Lockdown, Says CBN

Femi Ashekun/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says there will be no disruptions in banking services during the 14-day lockdown.

This is according to a statement signed by Isaac Okorafor (pictured), CBN director of corporate communications.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, on Sunday, instructed that movement of people be restricted in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja for 14 days in curb the spread of COVID-19 virus.

In a joint statement with the ministry of finance, budget and national planning, the CBN had said it had obtained permission from the president for key players in the financial sector to continue skeletal services.

“Consequently, relevant security agencies have been requested to grant passage to critical staff of these institutions to enable essential and strategic financial transactions to go undisrupted during the period of the lockdown,” the statement read.

The exempted institutions were listed to include:

i. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN);
ii. Deposit Money Banks (DMBs);
iii. The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc;
iv. Switching companies,
v. Mobile money operators,
vi. Payment solution service providers.

Members of the public were also encouraged to limit the use of cash and adopt alternative payment channels like mobile banking, internet banking, mobile money, point of sale (POS), and USSD.

Bank customers were also warned against panic withdrawals as financial institutions would remain operational during the lockdown.

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