Why Nigerians Are Quietly Rejecting ₦5, ₦10 and ₦20 Notes

₦5, ₦10 and ₦20 notes remain legal tender, but inflation has made them nearly useless in many everyday transactions. At markets and bus stops, some traders and transport operators now refuse the notes because there is little or nothing they can buy on their own. A recent field report found that some traders accept ₦50 as their smallest note, while basic transport fares have risen well above ₦100. This means people increasingly round up prices, forgo small change or ask for larger denominations. The issue is not that the notes are fake or invalid. Their purchasing power has simply fallen so far that daily commerce is leaving them behind. There is also separate confusion over the validity of older ₦100 notes, even though valid naira notes should be accepted as legal tender.

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