The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has perfected plans to rejig forex restrictions in the country.
The new rules will allow customers deposit foreign exchange in cash directly into local banks while the CBN will no longer sell forex directly to Bureau De Change operators in the country.
“The Bank would henceforth discontinue its sales of foreign exchange to BDCs (bureaux de change). Operators in this segment of the market would now need to source their foreign exchange from autonomous source,” central bank governor Godwin Emefiele told a press conference.
“The Bank would now permit commercial banks … to begin accepting cash desposits of foreign exchange from their customers.”
These are part of steps being taken by the CBN to reduce the pressure on the naira, which has been under pressure against major foreign currencies in the parallel market.