Cash held outside Nigeria's banking system reached N4.92 trillion in September 2026, representing 89.23 per cent of the N5.52 trillion in total currency circulating in the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria said in its Money and Credit Statistics.
The figures revealed a mixed picture for physical cash in the Nigerian monetary system. Currency outside banks increased by 10.26 per cent compared with September 2025, when it stood at N4.47 trillion, and rose by one per cent from August's N4.87 trillion. However, the share of currency in circulation held outside banks declined to 89.23 per cent in September from 90.15 per cent in the same month the previous year, the CBN said. This suggests that while the absolute amount of cash outside the system grew, it represented a smaller proportion of total currency moving through the economy.
Looking at the year so far, a different trend emerged. Currency outside banks fell from N5.25 trillion in January to N4.92 trillion in September, a contraction of 6.28 per cent, according to the CBN data. Over the same period, total currency in circulation declined from N5.73 trillion to N5.52 trillion, a drop of 3.73 per cent. On an annual basis, however, total currency in circulation grew to N5.52 trillion in September from N4.95 trillion a year earlier, an increase of 11.40 per cent.
A broader shift in the monetary system has reduced the relative importance of physical cash. Currency in circulation represented only 3.76 per cent of broad money supply, or M3, in September 2026, compared with 4.21 per cent in September 2025, the CBN said. This reflects a faster expansion of broader monetary aggregates. Broad money supply itself increased to N146.60 trillion in September from N117.78 trillion a year earlier, representing growth of 24.47 per cent.
For savers and borrowers, the data shows that despite substantial amounts of cash remaining outside the banking system, the monetary authorities are managing a steady shift toward non-cash forms of money as the economy expands.