By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Banks operating in Nigeria and trading in the foreign exchange market have been mandated they now have 48 hours to process and meet forex demands of their customer for the payment of school fees and medical bills abroad.
This order was handed down to them by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Financial Markets Department at the CBN, Dr Alvan Ikoku.
Mr Ikoku also said in the statement that, “Banks are mandated to process and meet the demand for Travel Allowances (PTA/BTA) by end-users within 24 hours of such application, as long as the end users meet basic requirements already outlined in earlier directives.”
Furthermore, the apex bank said all forex dealers must immediate have an electronic display board in all their branches; showing rates of all trading currencies, and customers must insist on processing FX transactions based on the displayed rates.
The CBN warned that failure to adhere to this order attracts sanctions, including but not limited to being “barred from all future CBN foreign exchange interventions.”
The statement further directed all banks to “open a teller point for retail FX transactions, including buying and selling, in all locations in order to ensure access to foreign exchange by their customers and other users, without any hindrance.
It noted that these directives were part of measures aimed at increasing foreign exchange availability to all end-users and ensure a fair and verifiable exchange rate operates in the market.
Adedapo Adesanya