The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has warned banks against selling dollars to eligible travelers above the stipulated price of N360.
Emefiele gave the warning during an inspection of banks in Abuja to monitor the rate of compliance with the circular issued last weekend to banks on the sale of forex.
To qualify for foreign exchange under this new policy, such eligible travelers must have in their possession valid traveling documents such as visas, passports, and air tickets.
Emefiele added that no bank should turn back any eligible traveler who had complied with the laid down requirements, adding that the CBN had given all the banks enough foreign exchange to meet genuine demands of travelers.
In his words:
“Just walk to any bank with your travel document, show your Visa and air ticket. They will ask for your BVN and once they verify it, they should attend to you on the spot.”
According to Emefiele, the CBN Examiners will continue to do on-the-spot assessments at banks to find out and be sure that people who are traveling get attended to Over-the-Counter.
Recall that the CBN had in a circular over the weekend directed banks to sell foreign exchange to genuine travelers over the counter. It also increased the frequency of foreign exchange sales to licensed Bureau de Change BDC to three times weekly.
According to the CBN, the new policy is to ensure that eligible travelers in the country are able to access foreign exchange for the Business Travel Allowances (BTA), Personal Travel Allowances (PTA), school fees payment and medical bills payment.
Difficulty in accessing foreign exchange through the banks could lead to increased patronage of the black market and widening of the rates between both sectors.
The new directive is also in line with the CBN’s plan to deepen foreign exchange liquidity available in the market.
