The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cbn

  • CBN: licensing of global money transfer firms ongoing

    CBN: licensing of global money transfer firms ongoing

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said there is an ongoing licencing of interested International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs).

    This has confirmed the story by The Nation, published yesterday that the regulator is receiving applications from prospective IMTOs.

    CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, dismissed allegations that the CBN has stopped licencing the IMTOs.

    He explained in a statement that in spite of its transparency in the licensing IMTOs, some persons have continued to allege that the bank has stopped the exercise.

    “The CBN wishes to state, unequivocally, that it has not foreclosed the licensing of interested players in the IMTO space in Nigeria. Therefore, interested applicants are required to forward their requests for licensing to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, in line with the CBN Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (2014), which among other things, specifies the minimum technical and business requirements for various participants in the international money transfer services industry in Nigeria,” he said.

    It added:“The CBN remains committed to providing an enabling environment for international money transfer services in Nigeria. It is, however, important to emphasise that a prospective player shall first obtain the requisite licence to operate in Nigeria as an IMTO”.

  • CBN may license new money transfer operators

    CBN may license new money transfer operators

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is considering licensing new International Money Transfers Operators (IMTOs) to join three certified operators – Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria, it was learnt yesterday.

    Industry sources said the apex bank is receiving new applications from prospective IMTOs jostling for the Nigeria market, and targeting huge dollar inflows from Nigerians in Diaspora, who remit over $21 billion annually to national coffers. The annual Diaspora remittance is expected to hit $35 billion this year following the devaluation of the naira, which remains an incentive for Nigerians in Diaspora to send more dollars home.

    The need to licence new operators, followed the exit of hundreds of international money transfer firms, after the CBN rolled out new guidelines stopping operations.

    “The CBN wishes to advise Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the unwholesome activities of some unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in Nigeria. This warning has become necessary because of the activities of some unregistered IMTOs, whose modes of operation are detrimental to the Nigerian economy,” CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor said.

    The CBN spokesman said all financial service providers in Nigeria, just as in other jurisdictions, are required to be duly licensed in order to protect both customers and the financial system as well as to ensure the credibility of financial transactions.

    ”For the avoidance of doubt, all licensed IMTOs, in line with the CBN Circular on the sale of foreign currency proceeds of July 22, 2016, are required to remit foreign currency to their respective agent banks in Nigeria for disbursement in Naira to the beneficiaries while the foreign currency proceeds are to be sold to Bureaux De Change operators, for onward retail to end users. The CBN will therefore not condone any attempt aimed at undermining the country’s foreign exchange regime,” Okorafor warned.

    WorldRemit, one of the international money transfer operators affected by the policy, said it sends more than 40,000 money transfers to Nigeria every month and receives more than $20 billion in remittances annually from migrants around the world.

  • NNPC, FIRS, CBN to collaborate on revenue generation

    NNPC, FIRS, CBN to collaborate on revenue generation

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru has  expressed the readiness of the corporation to continue to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  and other government agencies to generate revenue for Federal Government.

    Baru suggested the setting up of a committee between the NNPC and FIRS to update the Corporation’s tax obligation up to 2015 assuring that all its joint venture partners would align themselves in order to ensure that the right taxes are paid. NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, GarbaDeen Muhammad made this known in a statement yesterday.

    The FIRS Chairman,  Mr. Tunde Fowler,   praised the NNPC for subjecting itself to tax audit as a good responsible corporate citizen.

    He gave this commendation when he received the GMD and his management team at the FIRS Revenue House in Abuja.

    Fowler thanked the NNPC for the cooperation it has extended to FIRS on tax matters over the years stressing that the two organizations are children of the same father committed to generating revenue for the Federal Government.

  • CBN extends BVN for Diaspora customers to December

    CBN extends BVN for Diaspora customers to December

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday extended the deadline for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration for Nigerians in the Diaspora till December 31, this year.

    The exercise, previously meant to end in June 30 this year, was extended to ensure that all Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora are enrolled.

    In a circular to all banks, CBN Director, Banking and Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, said the extension followed observations by the CBN showing the low percentage of registration of Nigeria banks’ customers in the Diaspora.

    The BVN registration involves capturing of customers’ physiological or behavioral attributes – fingerprints and signatures, among others.

    The extension, he said, may be attributed to lack of accessibility to registration centres and unavailability of registration centres in some cities where Nigerian population is high.

    “From January 2017, all Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora should have the BVN attached to their accounts. Any bank customer without the BVN will be deemed to have inadequate Know Your Customer and such account will be operated as a ‘no customer initiated debit until the BVN registration is done,” he said in a statement.

    The CBN also appointed Avante International Technology Inc. to join OIS and VFS in the registration of Nigerian bank customers in the Disapora.

    The CBN chief also said the regulator would deploy more registration centres in locations with high Nigerian population. He urged Nigeria banks’ customers in the Diaspora to seize the opportunity of the extension to register and link their BVN to their bank accounts.

  • CBN resumes dollar sales to BDCs today

    CBN resumes dollar sales to BDCs today

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will today resume dollar sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) seven months after it stopped the practice.

    It stopped the sales last January because of what it called dollar scarcity and abuse of operating guidelines.

    Speaking to The Nation yesterday, Aminu Gwadabe,  Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) President, said nearly 3,000 BDCs are expected to access dollar from the CBN today.

    He said the BDCs had on Wednesday, funded their accounts with the CBN in readiness for the transaction, adding that dollar disbursement will start today and continue next week.

    “Our members funded their accounts with the CBN on Wednesday and will get the dollar equivalent today. The funds will be sold at the prevailing inter-bank rate,” he said.

    Gwadabe said the funds would come at one per cent commission, which has been agreed with the regulator.

    The CBN directed the BDCs to render returns and comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

    Gwadabe promised that the BDCs would abide by the directives and continually provide detailed reports on how previous dollars sourced from the CBN were utilised.

    The ABCON boss said the naira exchange rate against the dollar is expected to crash as more BDCs have access to the green back. He said the naira exchanged at N385 to the dollar at the parallel market, adding that it is expected to strengthen in the coming weeks as CBN’s interventions continue to calm the market.

    The CBN is targeting huge dollar supplies from the Diaspora estimated at $21 billion yearly, but it is expected to hit $35 billion by the end of this year as more Nigerians living abroad remit more dollars home after the adoption of the flexible foreign exchange policy which removed 16-month peg on the local currency.

    Gwadabe said although BDCs were happy with the resumption of dollar sales to operators, they are also requesting that the CBN opens more windows for them to operate.

    “We want more windows to be opened for BDCs instead of restricting it to Diaspora funds. We are happy we can now access the Diaspora funds, but we want the CBN to do more. We are confident that today’s sales will continue to calm the market,” he said.

    Last January, the CBN stopped funding of BDCs. Announcing the policy shift in Abuja, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said: “The bank (CBN) would, henceforth, discontinue its sales of foreign exchange to BDCs. Operators in this segment of the market would now need to source their foreign exchange from autonomous sources. They must however note that the CBN would deploy more resources to monitoring these sources to ensure that no operator is in violation of our anti-money laundering laws”.

    Last month, the CBN, ifted the ban. In a circular to authorised dealers titled: Sales of Foreign Currency Proceeds of International Money Transfers to Bureaux De Change Operators and signed by CBN Acting Director, Trade & Exchange W.D Gotring, the apex bank said the policy shift would ensure the stability of the exchange rate and boost participation of all critical stakeholders in the foreign exchange market.

    Gotring directed all authorised dealers (mainly banks) who are agents to approved International Money Transfer Operators to sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licenced BDCs with immediate effect.

    He explained that all International Money Transfer Operations are required to remit foreign currency to the agent banks for disbursement in naira to the beneficiaries while the foreign currency proceeds shall be sold to the BDCs.

    To ensure the success of the policy, CBN on Monday, certified only three international money transfer firms- Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria.

    The CBN also stopped hundreds of global remittance companies from operating in the country including WorldRemit, sends more than 40,000 money transfers to Nigeria every month and receives more than $20 billion in remittances annually from migrants around the world.

    Investigations showed that many of the affected firms were not licensed to operate in the country and may have breached some of the operating guidelines. An industry source alleged that the affected firms were withholding dollar inflows meant to deepen foreign currency liquidity in the country, and were paying local beneficiaries with naira instead of dollars.

    “The CBN wishes to advise Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the unwholesome activities of some unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in Nigeria. This warning has become necessary because of the activities of some unregistered IMTOs, whose modes of operation are detrimental to the Nigerian economy,” CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor said.

    The CBN spokesman said all financial service providers in Nigeria, just as in other jurisdictions, are required to be duly licensed in order to protect both customers and the financial system as well as to ensure the credibility of financial transactions.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, all licensed International Money Transfer Operators, in line with the CBN Circular on the sale of foreign currency proceeds of July 22, 2016, are required to remit foreign currency to their respective agent banks in Nigeria for disbursement in Naira to the beneficiaries while the foreign currency proceeds are to be sold to Bureaux De Change operators, for onward retail to end users. The CBN will therefore not condone any attempt aimed at undermining the country’s foreign exchange regime,” Okorafor warned.

  • CBN sells forex to pilgrims at N197

    CBN sells forex to pilgrims at N197

    Intending Pilgrims  for this year’s Hajj will access dollar from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at a concessionary exchange rate of N197 to dollar.

    A circular to all authorised dealers signed by CBN Acting Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D. Gotring, said each pilgrim is entitled to purchase a minimum of $750 and a maximum of $1,000 as Personal Travel Allowance (PTA).

    “The Federal Government has approved that intending pilgrims are to be sold the PTA at a concessionary exchange rate of N197 to the dollar. No commission shall be charged by the banks for the sale of PTA to the intending pilgrims,” he said.

    He explained that the CBN shall sale the PTA to the designated banks in Lagos and Abuja and the accounts of the respective banks shall be debited as soon as the funds are disbursed.

    “Each designated bank is required to sell to the CBN the unutilised funds not later than two weeks from the date of the last inward flight to Nigeria from Jedda, while the accounts of the banks shall be credited promptly.

    The approved banks for the exercise are Union Bank, Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa, First City Monument Bank, Sterling Bank, GTBank, Sterling Bank, Skye Bank among others,” he said.

     

     

  • CBN to raise N245b in T-bills at higher yields

    CBN to raise N245b in T-bills at higher yields

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to raise N245.18 billion ($773.44 million) worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) to settle short-term obligations.

    The T-bills’ maturities range between three months and a year and would be raised today, according to the CBN.

    T-bills are marketable short-term money market securities that serve the purpose of raising money for the government and also help in monetary policy management of the CBN.

    The CBN plans to issue N45.18 billion in three-month debt, N80 billion of six-month paper and N120 billion of one year bills in a Dutch auction, traders said.

    Indicative rates for the auction are 16 per cent for three-months, 18 per cent for six-months and 18.5 per cent for one-year bills. The auction’s results will be published the day after the sale.

    The main investors in government securities are mainly pension funds and commercial banks which control more than 60 per cent of the market, followed by insurance funds and a few micro-finance institutions.

    Yields on fixed income securities have been rising in recent months with the CBN mopping up naira liquidity to try to lure back foreign investors who sold naira assets following the plunge in the price of oil, Nigeria’s economic mainstay.

    The bank lifted interest rates by 200 basis points last week to 14 per cent to help fight inflation, which hit a 10-year high of 16.5 per cent in June.

    Also, the naira yesterday fell further in the parallel market to N384 to dollar from N382 on Monday as dollar scarcity continues to worsen.

    However, in the official market, naira closed at N310.50 against the dollar, firmer than previous close of 315.50, Thomson Reuters data showed. The local currency traded $23 million at 280.50 just after the interbank market opened at N316.50.

    One trader attributed the N280.50 rate to a dollar resale on the spot market of outright currency forwards sold by the CBN.

  • CBN to assist police in security

    CBN to assist police in security

    The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has pledged to assist the Nigeria Police Force in providing security for banks and its customers.

    Emefiele made the pledge in Abuja yesterday when the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris paid him a visit to solicit the support of the apex bank in providing logistics for the police.

    “The major request that he (the IGP) came with is to see how the CBN and the  banks can work together through a collaborative agreement for the banks to provide some form of support for the Nigeria Police to be able to protect not just the CBN but also  the customers as well as the banks.”

  • Cheques now acceptable in savings accounts, says CBN

    Cheques now acceptable in savings accounts, says CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday directed banks and other financial institution to allow customers operating savings accounts to lodge in cheques.

    CBN Director, Banking and Payment System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, who disclosed this in a circular, said savings account customers with Bank Verification Number (BVN) should be allowed to deposit cheques not more than N2 million in value into their accounts, per customer per day.

    The CBN said the decision to allow cheques in savings accounts is in furtherance of its efforts at strengthening the Nigerian payments system.

    The apex bank removed fixed interest rate on credit cards and discontinued the actual address verification in account opening, for customers with BVN.

    The apex bank also asked banks to begin to embed BVN biometric data in payment cards issued henceforth, to facilitate off-line BVN verification and biometric-based customer authentication on such payment devices as Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale (PoS), kiosks, among others.

    It says approval of BVN watch-listing modalities and release by the CBN of necessary Credit Risk Management System  (CRMS) data, to facilitate its use for enriching the BVN watch-list.

  • CBN endorses three firms for money transfer

    CBN endorses three firms for money transfer

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday stopped hundreds of global remittance companies from operating in the country.

    The affected firms, The Nation learnt, will no longer receive nor disburse the estimated $21 billion per annum collections from Nigerians in the Diaspora to local recipients.

    However, Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria were endorsed by the CBN to continue their operations in the country.

    WorldRemit, one of the international money transfer operators affected by the policy, said it sends more than 40,000 money transfers to Nigeria every month and receives more than $20 billion in remittances annually from migrants around the world.

    Investigations showed that many of the affected firms were not licenced to operate in the country and may have breached some of the operating guidelines. An industry source alleged that the affected firms were withholding dollar inflows meant to deepen foreign currency liquidity in the country, and were paying local beneficiaries with naira instead of dollars.

    “The operators need to do their business with integrity and international best practices. A situation whereby they withhold the dollar supplies and pay Nigerians in local currency can no longer be accepted,” the source, who is conversant with the operation of international money transfers said.

    “The operators opened local accounts where they disburse naira instead of dollar to beneficiaries. This has to stop,” the source said.

    WorldRemit founder and CEO, Ismail Ahmed said: “This move is arbitrary, inexplicable and hugely detrimental to the Nigerian Diaspora who rely on a hundreds of money transfer companies and banks, providing them with choice, convenience and competitive pricing.

    “Even now, as we suspend our service, there is no clarity on why this sudden change has happened. If it is on the basis of new rules, there was no warning. If it is a re-interpretation of old rules, local correspondent networks and banks should have been forewarned.

    “This reverses the progress made by the country when the Nigeria Central Bank banned Western Union’s exclusivity agreements that had created a near-monopolistic position in the international money transfer market. Western Union controlled 78 per cent of the market share when CBN outlawed exclusivity agreements with local banks.”

    Until now, money transfer operators such as WorldRemit operated via partnerships with licensed local correspondents in Nigeria, enabling transfer of funds to local bank accounts – providing a more efficient service than the SWIFT infrastructure.

    WorldRemit has also raised concerns about a 2015 memorandum from the Central Bank of Nigeria, setting out minimum requirements for companies offering international Mobile Money transfer services to Nigeria.

    The guidelines specify that any company offering Mobile Money transfers must have minimum net assets of $1 billion and have been operating for more than 10 years. WorldRemit is the world leader in transfers to Mobile Money accounts and had been planning to launch Mobile Money services in Nigeria.