Diaspora Remittances: CBN directs Banks, IMTOs to sustain Naira4dollar scheme

By Kayode Tokede

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, International Money Transfer Operations (IMTOs) to indefinitely sustain  its Naira 4-dollar scheme for diaspora remittances which was introduced a few months ago.

This is to sustain the foreign exchange market liquidity in Africa’s biggest economy which has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and drop in oil revenue.

This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the apex bank to all deposit money banks, IMTO and the general public, on Thursday, and can be seen on its website.

The initiative by the CBN, which rewards recipients with N5 for every $1 they receive through licensed IMTOs and commercial banks, was expected to end on May 8.

It was introduced to encourage recipients of dollars to use formal banking channels and help the CBN capture such inflows to boost the liquidity of the forex market and ensure the stability of the Naira, which has been under pressure after the crash of oil prices last year due to the pandemic.

The statement from CBN reads, “Further to the CBN circular referenced TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/01/003 dated 05 March 2021 on the above subject matter, which was originally scheduled to end on 08 May 2021, we hereby announce the continuation of the scheme till further notice.

“All aspects of the operationalization of the programme remain the same. Please take note and ensure compliance.”