THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that foreign exchange sellers to Bureau De Change (BDC) of $10,000 or more are required to declare their forex sources.
The apex bank stated this in a revamped regulatory framework which was released yesterday to curb BDC excesses and reduce confusion in the foreign exchange market.
According to the CBN, vendors must also follow all anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) requirements, as well as foreign exchange laws and regulations.
The CBN stated that the recommendations would considerably improve the regulatory framework for BDC operations as part of ongoing reforms to the Nigerian foreign currency market.
The apex bank further stated that the rules modify BDCs’ allowed operations, licencing criteria, corporate governance, and AML/CFT provisions.
The guidelines stated that BDCs could obtain foreign currencies from tourists, diaspora returnees, expatriates with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment, or their domiciliary accounts, residents with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment, or their domiciliary accounts, and International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs).
Other permitted buyers of foreign currencies include embassies, hotels, the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), and any other source specified by the CBN.
The rules also said that clients might move foreign dollars from their private domiciliary accounts with Nigerian banks to BDCs.
It further stated that “All digital/transfer purchases of foreign currencies shall be credited to the BDC’s Nigerian domiciliary account.
“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 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.”
