Following its new policy on the remittance of international money transfer in foreign currencies to recipients, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed switches and processors to immediately suspend all local currency transfers.
The apex bank in a release on Wednesday stated that all money market operators are to forthwith disable wallets from receipts of funds from IMTOs.
The bank said following the recent policy pronouncements on the relaxation of rules on foreign remittances, domiciliary accounts, it noted material compliance by a majority of market participants as beneficiaries of remittances through the IMTOs now receive their foreign currency through designated banks.
The CBN, however, frowned at a few operators that fail to comply with its directive by continuing to pay remittances in the local currency.
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“Payment service providers are directed to cease integrating their systems with IMTOs going forward and must prevent comingling of remittances with other legitimate transactions,” the statement said.
“All IMTOs are required to immediately disclose to beneficiaries that they exercise discretion to receive transfer in foreign currency cash or directly into their domiciliary accounts.
“A central reporting portal for all foreign remittances to be managed by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) is currently under development to improve visibility of foreign remittances flows.”
The CBN warned that all licensed institutions that go against its directive will face stiff regulatory sanctions, which include the revocation of licence. stating that it is committed to promoting transparency in the administration of diaspora remittances into the country.
