By Audrey Lotechukwu
THUR, 17 DEC, 2020-theGBJournal- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Wednesday issued additional operational guidelines on receipt of Diaspora remittances as it emerged that some International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) continue to pay remittances in local currency despite regulatory directive.
The apex bank also warned of ‘’stiff regulatory sanctions’’ including revocation of license for future contravention of the guidelines.
The CBN in the additional operation guidelines contained in a circular issued Wednesday warned Switches and Processors to ‘’immediately cease all local currency transfers in respect of foreign remittances through IMTOs.
It directed all MMOs to immediately disable wallets from receipts of funds from IMTOs.
Payment Service Providers are also directed to cease integrating their systems with IMTOs going forward, ‘’and must prevent comingling of remittances with other legitimate transactions and IMTOs are to immediately disclose to beneficiaries that they exercise discretion to receive transfer in foreign currency cash or directly into their domiciliary accounts.
The CBN noted that a central reporting portal for all foreign remittances to be managed by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) is currently under development to improve visibility of foreign remittance flows.
The apex bank reiterated its commitment to promoting transparency in the administration of Diaspora remittances into Nigeria, adding that it will continue to enforce policies that will stabilize and deepen the Nigeria foreign exchange market.
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