The latest Money and Credit Statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that cash held outside Nigeria’s banking system fell by N197.68 billion in one month to N5.21 trillion in January 2026.
This is even as the amount of money circulating in the economy remained broadly flat, and bank reserves dropped sharply by N1.74 billion to N5.731 trillion in January 2026 from N5.732 trillion in the preceding month
The figures showed that currency outside banks declined from N5.41 trillion in December 2025 to N5.21 trillion in January 2026, representing a month-on-month drop of N197.68 billion.
The data further showed that a very large share of Nigeria’s physical cash remained outside deposit money banks.
The proportion of currency in circulation that was held outside banks stood at 90.91 per cent in January 2026, indicating that more than nine-tenths of cash in circulation was still outside the vaults of banks during the month under review, although the ratio was lower than the 94.33 per cent recorded in December 2025.
A comparison with the same period last year showed that cash outside banks was still significantly higher on an annual basis. In January 2025, currency outside banks stood at N4.74 trillion, compared with N5.21 trillion in January 2026. This translates to a year-on-year increase of N473 billion.
Similarly, currency in circulation rose by N495.68 billion year-on-year from N5.24 trillion in January 2025 to N5.73 trillion in January 2026, indicating that the stock of physical cash in the economy expanded over the 12-month period.
