Forex Seller Above $10,000 Must Declare Source – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday directed all foreign exchange sellers who sell to Bureau De Change (BDC) for the equivalent of 10,000 dollars and above to declare their forex sources.

The Apex Bank issued this directive in a revised regulatory framework to curtail excesses of BDCs and check uncertainty in the foreign exchange market which it published on Friday.

According to the CBN, sellers would also be required to comply with all Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism ( AML/CFT) regulations and foreign exchange laws and regulations.

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The CBN noted that the guidelines would significantly enhance the regulatory framework for the operations of BDCs as part of ongoing reforms of the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

The apex bank also stated that the guidelines revise the permissible activities, licensing requirements, corporate governance, and AML/CFT provisions for BDCs.

The guidelines specified that BDCs may source foreign currencies from Tourists, returnees from the diaspora, 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).

Others are embassies, hotels that are authorised buyers of foreign currencies, the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), and any other source that the CBN may specify.

The guidelines also specified that customers may transfer foreign currencies from their 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 a 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 a 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.”