CBN Orders FX Sellers With $10,000 And Above To Declare Sources
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that individuals selling foreign exchange to Bureau De Change (BDC) in amounts equivalent to 10,000 dollars or more must disclose the sources of their forex.
This directive is part of a revised regulatory framework aimed at controlling the activities of BDCs and reducing instability in the foreign exchange market.
Sellers are also required to adhere to Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, as well as foreign exchange laws and regulations. The CBN emphasized that these guidelines will strengthen the regulatory framework governing the operations of BDCs as part of the ongoing reforms in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
The apex bank has also mentioned that the guidelines have been revised to cover various aspects such as permissible activities, licensing requirements, corporate governance, and AML/CFT provisions for BDCs.
According to the guidelines, BDCs are allowed to obtain foreign currencies from different sources including tourists, returnees from the diaspora, expatriates with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment, or their domiciliary accounts. Additionally, residents with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment, or their domiciliary accounts, as well as International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), are also eligible sources.
Furthermore, the guidelines have specified that embassies, authorized foreign currency buyers such as hotels, the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), and any other sources specified by the CBN are also included.
In addition, customers are permitted to transfer foreign currencies from their individual domiciliary accounts with Nigerian banks to BDCs.
Moreover, the guidelines have emphasized that all digital/transfer purchases of foreign currencies must be credited to the BDC’s Nigerian domiciliary account.
The CBN statement reads: “Payments for all digital/transfer purchases of foreign currency by a BDC shall be by transfer to the customer’s Naira account. If the customer is a non-resident (whether Nigerian or not), a BDC may issue the customer a prepaid NGN card.
“Where such a card is issued, relevant maximum credit and cumulative limits, in line with relevant Know Your Customer requirements, shall apply.
“Payments to customers for cash purchases of foreign currency, the equivalent of above USD500, shall be by transfer to the customer’s Naira bank account.
“If the customer is nonresident (whether Nigerian or not), a BDC shall issue the customer a prepaid NGN card.
“Where such a card is issued, relevant maximum credit and cumulative limits, in line with relevant Know Your Customer requirements, shall apply.
“Payments to customers for cash purchases of foreign currency of the equivalent of USD500 and below may be made in cash.”
