Naira portability report by Quartus Economics urges CBN to introduce N10,000 and N20,000 notes to ease cash use and reflect real economic value

Naira portability has once again come under focus as a new economic review by Quartus Economics calls on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce higher-value currency notes such as N10,000 and N20,000 bills to restore the naira’s ease of use and reduce the rising cost of cash transactions.

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In its report titled “Is Africa’s Eagle Stuck or Soaring Back to Life?”, Quartus Economics warned that the persistent depreciation of the naira has rendered the N1,000 note — Nigeria’s highest denomination — practically obsolete in terms of real purchasing power.

“To make the naira portable again, Nigeria can introduce higher-value bills, such as N10,000 or N20,000 notes, or redenominate the currency entirely,” the report stated.

The analysts revealed that a proposed N5,000 note from 2012 would now be equivalent to a N50,000 note today, following a staggering 94 per cent decline in the naira’s real value over two decades.

Contrary to popular belief, the report dismissed concerns that issuing higher-value notes would worsen inflation, calling such fears a “myth unsupported by evidence.”

It argued that inflation in Nigeria is driven by cost-push and demand-pull factors, not by the denominations of the currency itself.

“When the N1,000 note was introduced in 2005, it was worth nearly $7 at the official rate. Today, it is valued at less than 60 cents,” the report noted, underscoring the naira’s dramatic loss of value.

Quartus Economics stressed that this depreciation has made routine transactions increasingly cumbersome, particularly in the informal sector where cash remains dominant.

Traders, artisans, and rural consumers now haul large bundles of notes for payments that could easily be completed with a few higher-value bills.

The firm also highlighted the economic burden on the Central Bank, citing the “prohibitive” cost of printing, transporting, and securing low-value notes.

“Outside the formal sector and the urban elite, the naira’s heavy weight is a drag on the economy and slows growth,” the report said.

According to the analysts, the introduction of N10,000 and N20,000 notes, or even a currency redenomination, would not only enhance Naira Portability but also improve transactional efficiency, cut printing costs, and align Nigeria’s monetary structure with those of other emerging economies.

They recalled that the CBN once proposed introducing a N5,000 note in 2012 under then-Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, but the policy was abandoned following public backlash.

Quartus Economics insisted that the same policy rationale remains valid today, given the naira’s steep decline in real value.

Importantly, the firm clarified that the proposed move is not about “printing more money” but about modernising Nigeria’s currency denominations to reflect economic realities and make everyday transactions more practical.

Citing examples of inflation-adjusted costs, the report explained that the price of a kilogramme of imported rice has jumped from N150 in 2005 to about N2,500 today, while a one-way domestic flight from Lagos to Abuja has surged from N12,000 to over N150,000.

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“These indicators show how much the naira has lost its purchasing power, and a higher-value note is urgently needed to make the naira portable,” the report concluded powerfully.