BY Fikayo Owoeye
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a “Naira 4 Dollar Scheme” — an incentive for senders and recipients of international money transfers.
The apex bank said all recipients of diaspora remittances through CBN-licensed international money transfer operators (IMTOs) shall henceforth be paid N5 for every $1 received as remittance inflow.
“In light of this, the CBN shall, through commercial banks , pay to remittance recipients the incentive of N5 for every USD1 remitted by sender and collected by designated beneficiary,” the bank said in the circular seen by TheCable.
“This incentive is to be paid to recipients whether they choose to collect the USD as cash across the counter in a bank or transfer same into their domiciliary account.”
The scheme runs from March 8 to May 8.
Following the double-whammy impact of the pandemic and declining oil prices in 2020, Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) earnings suffered a sharp decline. This has forced the apex bank to look for alternative sources to boost the nation’s FX earnings through diaspora remittances.
In November 2020, CBN announced that beneficiaries of diaspora remittances through the international monetary transfer operators (IMTO) will have such inflows in foreign currency (US dollar) through the designated bank of their choice.
The CBN had said the changes are necessary to deepen the FX market, provide more liquidity and create more transparency in the administration of Diaspora remittances into Nigeria.
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