Nigeria owns a mint but still prints currency abroad

Nigeria owns a national security printing company, yet continues to rely heavily on foreign contractors to produce its banknotes. Recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2025 Annual Report show a widening gap between the country’s growing cash demands and its limited domestic manufacturing capacity.

The latest figures reveal that foreign high-security printers accounted for 65 percent of all banknotes approved for production in 2025, while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPM), the country’s official Mint, was allocated just 35 percent. Compounding the issue, the NSPM failed to fulfil its minority quota, forcing the central bank to rely heavily on overseas printers to bridge the resulting supply gap.

This persistent dependency has reignited debates surrounding the country’s macroeconomic resilience and its capacity to manage strategic national assets. Financial analysts argue that aggressively localising currency production is a necessary step to conserve scarce foreign exchange, stimulate domestic job creation, and assert greater economic sovereignty. But the numbers tell a different story.

The CBN approved the production of 5.71 billion banknotes across different denominations in 2025, a 20.5 percent increase from the 4.74 billion approved in 2024, reflecting rising demand for cash despite the country’s digital payment drive.

Of the total allocation, the NSPM was assigned 2.0 billion pieces, equivalent to 35 percent, while foreign security printers received the remaining 65 percent.

However, by the end of December 2025, the local Mint had delivered only 1.24 billion banknotes, representing 62 percent of its allocation. About 760.76 million pieces, or 38 percent, remained undelivered.

In contrast, foreign printers completed the delivery of 2.206 billion banknotes covering the N1,000, N500 and N200 denominations. The CBN also disclosed that another contract for 1.5 billion banknotes awarded to foreign printers in November 2025 was still being executed at year-end.

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The figures suggest that while Nigeria has a domestic Mint, its current production capacity remains inadequate to meet the country’s growing currency needs, forcing the CBN to rely heavily on foreign suppliers.

The reliance comes at a time when currency in circulation continues to expand. According to the CBN, currency in circulation rose to N5.73 trillion in 2025 from N5.44 trillion in 2024, driven by stronger economic activity and increased public demand for cash.

For economists, the continued dependence on foreign printers raises questions beyond logistics.

Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said Nigeria should no longer rely on overseas firms to print its currency, given its investment in local security printing infrastructure.

“I think it is not a very good report that we are printing so much of our currency notes outside the country,” Yusuf said.

He argued that localising banknote printing would support the government’s Nigeria First policy, conserve scarce foreign exchange and create jobs.

According to him, the benefits should also extend beyond banknotes to other security documents such as ballot papers and cheque books.

“We should be able to print that locally. It is not rocket science. In this day and age, we should not be spending our hard-earned foreign exchange to print currency notes outside the country,” Yusuf said.

He urged the government to strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc while also supporting private sector security printing companies to build a stronger domestic industry.

Ayodele Akinwunmi, chief economist at United Capital Plc, also believes Nigeria should strive to meet its currency printing requirements locally.

According to him, producing banknotes domestically would conserve foreign exchange and reinforce the country’s economic sovereignty.

However, he cautioned that expanding local printing capacity should be balanced against the country’s gradual transition towards a digital and cashless economy.

“Where local capacity proves insufficient, controlled importation is acceptable, provided the security of the currency is safeguarded,” Akinwunmi said.

“It must be noted that as the country maintains a steady shift toward a digital and cashless economy, significant capital investment in expanding the Minting Company must be evaluated cautiously to ensure it delivers sustainable value in the long run.”

Ayokunle Olubunmi, head of Financial Institutions Ratings, Agusto & Co., said the development just reflects the challenges that the NSPM is grappling with; thus, most of Nigeria’s security documents are printed abroad.

Beyond currency production, the CBN said it continued to modernise its currency management operations. The bank strengthened counterfeit detection through its forensic currency laboratory, expanded environmentally sustainable recycling of destroyed banknotes into products such as manure, egg crates and charcoal briquettes, and intensified public awareness campaigns on proper handling of the naira.

It also carried out nationwide evaluations of lower-denomination polymer notes, sanctioned banks that violated currency management guidelines, established a technical committee to improve cash processing and cash-in-transit operations, and expanded the deployment of automated Banknote Processing System machines and online reporting tools to improve monitoring and efficiency.

While these measures are improving currency management, the production figures indicate that Nigeria’s ambition to become self-sufficient in printing its own currency remains a work in progress. Until domestic printing capacity can consistently meet demand, foreign security printers are likely to remain central to the country’s banknote supply.