In the past year, a lot has changed in the way Nigerians request foreign currency (especially US dollars, euros and pound sterling) from banks.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had announced that effective from November 30, 2021, the e-Form A for invisible transactions – which allows foreign exchange transactions for services that do not involve tangible goods, will replace the hard copy process in order to make it seamless.
- As part of the changes, the CBN launched the Trade Monitoring System or TRMS, a digital platform to enable students, exporters, and anyone seeking medical attention in overseas countries to apply for foreign exchange.
- The implication is that applications for all Personal/Business Travel Allowance (PTA/BTA), Nigeria Exports Proceeds Form (NXP), and Non-Commercial Exports (NCX)NCX) went from the daunting physical documentation process at the banking halls to digital processing.
- There is no gainsaying the fact that the tedious process associated with physical documentation was not only time-consuming but also served as a major impediment to the effectiveness of the system.
How TREMS eliminates barrier: As you may know, Personal Travel Allowance or (PTA) was designed to allow traders, importers and frequent travelers to buy foreign currency at bank branches to meet their legitimate personal and business needs.
With PTA, individuals can also pay for their mortgages abroad, tuition, foreign utilities, life insurance premiums, credit card payments and more with e-Form A.
The new TRMS covers all the areas that the old forms used to handle. It is also swift and eliminates some trouble faced by some banks in moving the original filled paper forms on time.
Buying PTA this Christmas: December is the season of celebration. People like to unwind and relax with their families. As such, there is usually a lot of spending in the economy. With this comes an increased demand for forex, especially for those planning to spend the holiday abroad.
Therefore, anyone in need of PTA this season will need to go through the necessary procedures and ensure they meet the requirement for application.
Focus on the requirement: Before applying for PTA, you may need to ensure that you meet the necessary requirements which are as follows:
- Applicants must be eighteen years old and above and must be an account holder of some banks.
- Applicants must have their emails linked to their BVN.
- Applicants must be a holder of a valid Nigerian International Passport and valid visa of the country of destination.
- Applicants must have a copy of the bio data page of their international passport submitted for processing of the request.
- Applicant’s flight must originate from Nigeria.
- Applicants will only be able to buy PTA if their travel will be undertaken not more than 14 days from the day of the purchase of PTA.
How to apply for the PTA: To apply for PTA, log in with your details, assuming you are already registered. If not, visit https://www.tradesystem.gov.ng/signup.
- Click start application
- Select PTA/BTA
- Enter all necessary travel details
- Upload necessary travel documents e.g return flight ticket, visa page, and international passport data page
- Upload the company’s letter of nomination and certificate of incorporation (in the case of BTA only)
- Enter your bank account number to debit
- Select your bank from the dropdown
- Select the bank branch that you prefer to treat the transaction
- Submit
Stages of applying for TRMS
- Reviewer: In the first stage, the reviewer carefully check for correctness of your details, verifies your account number, and confirms your uploaded documents. Upon approval, however the application is passed to the reviewer’s supervisor.
- Supervisor: Here, the supervisor also checks the filled details and confirms the uploaded documents. After it is approved, a 16-digit AA-number is generated and the application is forwarded to the disbursement team to approve the disbursement of the cash or transfer.
- Disbursement Reviewer: At this stage, the disbursement reviewer takes a final look at the application and approves the disbursement of the funds in cash or transfer. The applicant will receive a mail to this effect.
