The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has said it will sanction deposit money banks who fail to honour legitimate forex requests by customers.
This was contained in a circular by CBN director of banking supervision, Haruna Mustapha, following the earlier announcement of a ban on sale of forex to bureaux de change operators.
The CBN directed banks to set up teller points to meet legitimate foreign exchange demands and also warned banks to ensure that no customer is turned back or refused FX provided that documentation and other requirements are satisfied.
It said undue delays should be avoided while alert systems are required to update customers of their request status.
“Further to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) briefing of July 27, 2021, all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are hereby reminded to set up teller points at designated branches across the country to fulfil legitimate FX requests for Personal Travel Allowance, (PTA), Business Travel Allowance (BTA), tuition fees, medical payments. SMEs transactions, amongst others,” the circular read.
The CBN said bank are also required to adequately publicise the locations of the designated branches and make necessary arrangements to sell FX to customers in cash and/or electronically in compliance with extant regulations.
It said undue delays should be avoided while alert systems are required to update customers of their request status.
“Equally, undue delays, rationing and/or diversion of FX is strongly discouraged whilst DMBs are required to establish electronic application and alert systems to update customers on the status of their FX requests.”
“As communicated during the briefing, a toll-free line has been set up at the CBN for bank customers to escalate unresolved complaints related to their FX requests.
“The CBN will continue to closely monitor banks’ conduct and compliance with this directive to ensure an efficient FX market for all legitimate users. Please note that any breach of the directive will be severely sanctioned,” the circular stated.
