[Official] Investors Will Start Receiving Direct Cash Payment When They Sell Shares

The Capital Market Committee (CMC), the umbrella body of all capital market stakeholders under the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), yesterday at its quarterly meeting in Lagos, mandated that investors in the Nigerian capital market be credited directly with the net proceeds of stock market transactions as from January 2, 2016. All stakeholders are to work towards the take-off date for the direct cash payment.

Unlike before where the payments for investors’ transactions go into the accounts of the brokers for onward disbursement to their clients, the general practice under the ‘direct cash settlement’ will be to send the net proceeds direct from the clearing and settlement system straight to the investors’ accounts while the existing practice of payment through brokers will become exceptional cases.

This new arrangement will involve brokers providing their clients’ bank account details to the CSCS, being the agent of the Exchange for the clearing and settlement of all securities traded on the Automated Trading System (ATS) of the NSE.