The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to open naira settlement accounts and route all remittance transactions through them.
This means recipients of diaspora remittances will be paid
in the local currency from May, ending decades of dollar payments to Nigerians
when relatives abroad send money home.
The CBN said the latest policy is aimed at deepening
diaspora remittances while improving transparency, traceability, and monitoring
of foreign exchange (FX) flows.
The directive will take effect from May 1, 2026, according
to a circular issued on Monday and signed by Musa Nakorji, director of the
trade and exchange department at the CBN.
“All IMTOs are hereby directed to open naira settlement
accounts and ensure that all transactions are routed strictly through their
designated settlement accounts, maintained with authorised dealer banks (ADBs)
in Nigeria,” the circular reads.
The CBN said all transactions related to international money
transfers, including disbursements to beneficiaries and other settlements, must
be processed exclusively through the designated accounts.
According to the apex bank, IMTOs may designate existing
accounts or open new ones and are allowed to operate multiple settlement
accounts across different ADBs.
The regulator said such accounts “shall only be credited
with remittance flows and proceeds of foreign exchange conversions by licensed
IMTOs (or their agents) with authorised market participants in the Nigerian
Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM)”.
The CBN also directed IMTOs to notify its trade and exchange
department of all designated settlement accounts and provide updates when
necessary.
To enhance market efficiency, the bank said the ADBs may
process foreign currency transfers from IMTO settlement accounts to other
authorised dealers and approved participants, including bureau de change (BDC)
operators.
On pricing, the apex bank instructed IMTOs to benchmark
their rates against real-time market prices on Bloomberg’s BMatch platform.
“IMTOs shall observe real-time market prices from the
Bloomberg BMatch and utilise this as guidance for pricing transactions with
their customers and authorised dealers,” the CBN said.
The bank said the move would improve price discovery, reduce
information asymmetry, and encourage participation in the official FX market.
The regulator also reminded the IMTOs to comply with
anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism, and
counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) requirements, while maintaining
proper records for audit and regulatory review.
The CBN said the directive forms part of ongoing efforts to
strengthen the remittance framework introduced in its revised guidelines for
international money transfer services issued in January 2024.
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