Cash outside banks hits ₦4.9trn, more than doubles in three years — CBN
- CBN data shows cash held outside banks rose to ₦4.923trn in September 2026 from ₦2.416trn in 2023.
- Demand deposits also grew 70.8 per cent to ₦39.124trn over the same three-year period.
- An analyst says the figures alone cannot explain why Nigerians still hold so much physical cash.
Nigerians are keeping far more money in their hands and homes than they did three years ago. New figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) put cash held outside the banking system at ₦4.923 trillion in September 2026, up from ₦2.416 trillion in September 2023.
That is a jump of 103.8 per cent, meaning the amount has more than doubled in three years, according to the CBN's Money and Credit Statistics.
The climb has been steady. Cash outside banks rose 66.2 per cent to ₦4.016 trillion by September 2024, then 11.2 per cent to ₦4.465 trillion by September 2025. Between September 2025 and September 2026 alone, it grew 10.3 per cent.
Why it matters: when money sits outside the formal system, it is harder for banks and regulators to track, and it points to how much everyday business in Nigeria still runs on notes and coins — from market traders to transport fares — despite the spread of transfers, mobile banking, ATMs and POS terminals.
Bank balances are growing too
Money in accounts that customers can withdraw or spend at any time — known as demand deposits — also rose sharply. It climbed 70.8 per cent from ₦22.903 trillion in September 2023 to ₦39.124 trillion in September 2026.
The yearly path was ₦31.842 trillion in September 2024 (up 39 per cent), ₦34.642 trillion in September 2025 (up 8.8 per cent), and ₦39.124 trillion in September 2026 (up 12.9 per cent).
So Nigerians are holding more in their bank accounts and more in cash at the same time.
Clifford Egbomeade, an economic and communications expert, cautioned against reading too much into the growth rates alone. He said the two measures track different things: demand deposits are bank balances, while currency outside banks is physical cash held beyond the banking system.
Their growth rates alone do not establish how much of the increase in cash holdings is attributable to economic growth, inflation, informal transactions or changes in payment preferences.
In other words, the data shows the trend but not the cause. Higher prices, a bigger informal economy, or simply a preference for cash could all play a part, and the CBN figures do not separate them.
What happens next
The CBN has not announced any new policy in response to these numbers. For now, the data suggests that efforts to pull more Nigerians into formal banking and digital payments still have ground to cover, especially among people who do not have accounts or who prefer to keep their money close.
