CBN Extends Naira for Dollar Promo Deadline

By Dipo Olowookere

The deadline for the promo introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost diaspora remittances in the country has been extended.

The initiative tagged Naira 4 Dollar allows beneficiaries of foreign fund transfers through any of the accredited International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to earn N5 for every $1, which could be cashed out over-the-counter or transferred into the beneficiary’s bank account.

The promo started on March 8, 2021, and was supposed to end on May 8, 2021, but the apex bank has now extended the deadline indefinitely.

In a circular issued by A.S. Jibrin for the Director of Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, it was stated that the promo will continue till further notice.

“Further to the CBN circular referenced TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/01/003 dated March 5, 2021, on the above subject matter, we hereby announce the continuation of the scheme until further notice.

“All aspects of the operationalization of the programme remain the same.

“Please take note and ensure compliance,” the circular stated.

Business Post reports that the CBN introduced the Naira for Dollar promo to increase the flow of Dollars into the country, especially at a time the country was experiencing a shortage in FX earnings from crude oil sales.

The apex bank had said the promo would help Nigeria “to make the process of sending remittance through formal bank channels cheaper and more convenient for Nigerians in the diaspora.”

It had also said the scheme would “ensure that remittance flows and diaspora investments become a significant source of external financing” for the nation.

The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had explained that the models had been applied in Pakistan and Bangladesh. He said both South Asian countries had introduced reimbursement schemes to support inflows.

In the CBN chief’s words, “In Pakistan, the scheme, which is known as free send, has enabled record amount of inflows of over $2 billion a month even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bangladesh introduced its own scheme in June 2019, which is a two per cent rebate on remittance inflows. Following this action, they have also seen a 20 per cent boost in remittance inflows.”

A respected Economist, Mr Bismarck Rewane, while speaking on the likely implications of the currency promo during a chat with Business Morning on Channels TV in March, said it was designed to increase the country’s awareness and the inflows of Nigeria’s diaspora into the country’s financial system.

However, he noted that it was rare for the government to use such promotional schemes to promote inflows into the country.

“What is challenging here is that it is very unusual for policies to be tied around promos or gimmicks. Usually, promos and gimmicks are used by manufacturers to launch or push products, or airlines when they have low sales.

“So, they tie this kind of promo to buy one get one free or to revamp stagnant sales. So, it’s very unusual and peculiar for governments to engage in gimmicks or promos,” he noted.

But he warned that there are a lot of risks associated with the policy because some people will round trip the policy using arbitrage. Arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same asset in different markets in order to profit from tiny differences in the asset’s listed price.

“So, people will try to use arbitrage on the system. But the fact is that Nigeria is number six in the world in terms of diaspora and workers remittances. It is estimated at about $20 to $25 billion [annually].

“The current pandemic and unemployment rates in the US, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom are also going to affect the ability of Nigeria to remit money in.

“These two trends have actually dropped sharply because of vaccination certificates and all sorts of the pandemic effect. So, basically, in the end, I think it’s a gimmick. It is a promo, the central bank will fully understand in the end that there’s no other way of managing an exchange rate than converging them, having one rate so that people don’t stop exploiting it.

“In any case, you collect cash, and you take it to the parallel market or autonomous sources to sell the Naira, and then come back and you get the N5. What could happen is that you could turn $1,000 back again to your brother, who will bring it back.

“So, what could happen is that there could be what I call playing with neurons, the same money turning around the velocity of separation increasing, whilst the quantity supplied into the market will not increase.