CBN data show N70.9bn monthly increase in August as cash holdings reverse recent downward trend….
The amount of cash held outside Nigeria’s banking system rose to N4.87 trillion in August 2026, marking a return to growth after three consecutive months of decline.
Fresh data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show that currency outside banks increased by N70.9 billion, or 1.48%, from N4.80 trillion recorded in July.
The August increase marks a reversal of the downward movement recorded between May and July, when the amount of cash outside the banking system fell by about N391.8 billion.
Currency outside banks had stood at N5.19 trillion in May, before dropping to N4.92 trillion in June and further down to N4.80 trillion in July.
The latest increase therefore puts the figure back on an upward path, although it remains below the level recorded at the beginning of the year.
CBN figures show that cash outside banks stood at N5.25 trillion in January 2026, meaning the August figure is still about N381.3 billion lower than the year’s opening level.
The year-on-year picture, however, tells a different story.
Compared with August 2025, when currency outside banks stood at N4.45 trillion, the latest figure represents an increase of approximately N419 billion, equivalent to 9.4%.
The data also point to a broader increase in cash holdings outside the banking system over the past year.
In September 2025, currency outside banks was recorded at N4.47 trillion. The figure subsequently moved higher, eventually crossing the N5 trillion mark in January 2026 before beginning the three-month decline that ended in August.
CBN pushes digital payment agenda
The latest increase comes against the backdrop of the CBN’s efforts to encourage greater use of digital payment channels and bring more Nigerians into the formal financial system.
The apex bank’s Nigeria Payment System Vision 2028 is designed to build on the country’s rapid expansion in digital payments while promoting a financial system that is more inclusive and technology-driven.
The initiative also includes a target to bring the proportion of cash circulating outside the banking system to below 40% of total currency in circulation.
The CBN is simultaneously targeting 95% financial inclusion among Nigeria’s adult population by 2028, as the country continues to see wider adoption of fintech platforms, mobile money, instant payment systems and digital banking.
Money supply continues to expand
The movement in currency outside banks comes as Nigeria’s overall money supply continues to expand.
Latest CBN figures show that broad money supply, or M3, increased to N139.38 trillion in August 2026, up from N119.69 trillion in August 2025. That represents a year-on-year increase of 16.4%.
Broad money captures several categories of funds circulating within the economy, including currency outside banks, demand deposits, savings and time deposits, as well as foreign currency deposits.
Meanwhile, net domestic assets rose from N101.07 trillion in July to N101.99 trillion in August, representing an increase of about N925.5 billion.
The latest figures provide a mixed picture of Nigeria’s changing payment landscape: while efforts to expand digital transactions continue, a substantial volume of physical cash remains outside the banking system, with August recording a fresh increase after the declines seen earlier in the year.
