DMBs to Refuse Offshore Funds by Unregistered Payment Services

Nigeria’s Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have notified their customers that they will not receive offshore funds processed through unregistered payment services providers.

The banks disclosed this via emails sent to their customers on Thursday.

Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that the directive came on the back of a newly released list of the 62 approved International Transfer Money Operators (IMTOs).

The circular which was addressed to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), IMTOs and the general public, stated that, “Further to the circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/011 dated November 30, 2020, IMTOs are required to pay out the proceeds using the Investor & Exporter’s window rate as the anchor rate on the day of the transaction.

It said that with immediate effect, Naira will now be a payout option for receipts of proceeds of IMTOs. The circular said, “Accordingly, all recipients of diaspora remittances through the CBN-approved IMTOs on the attached list shall henceforth have the option of receiving naira payment in addition to USD and eNaira as payout options. This regulation takes effect immediately. Please note and ensure compliance”.

In response to the apex bank’s directive, banks in separate emails sent to customers, read, “Dear Valued Customer, thank you for choosing Access Bank as your preferred financial partner. We want to ensure that foreign currency transfers that you received from offshore accounts are processed seamlessly. In view of this, we write to notify you that offshore payment processed via unregistered payment services will not be received by Access Bank.

Furthermore, one of the new generational banks, said, “We request that customers check the current list of registered payment services and reach out to your offshore partners to notify them of this update and for any enquiries on your expected inflows”.

According to analysts, the banks’ advice to their customers is aimed at preventing forex dealers from taking advantage of the CBN’s recent forex reforms. As part of its efforts to ease pressure on the exchange rate, the CBN, on June 14, announced a series of measures as part of what it said was an ongoing reform of the foreign exchange market. Specifically, it collapsed all segments of the foreign exchange market into the I&E window and announced the reintroduction of the “willing buyer, willing seller” model at the window.

The suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had warned financial institutions and their customers against engaging in unauthorised forex transactions as this would attract serious sanctions, including placing Post No Debit (PND) on the accounts of bank customers found to have carried out illegal transactions due to the 2023 elections back in February.

He said: “We will continue to use discretionary powers to mop up excess liquidity from the vault of the banks so that they don’t get involved or in speculative activities with people who want speculate in the currency. As for those who want to take Naira from their account to buy dollar, because of election, I want to warn, not advise, that it is illegal to do so.

We have our own apparatus through which we monitor movement of funds between customers or between banks and customers and from one bank to the other bank and anyone that we find in those kind of transactions, that we consider to be unauthorized or illegal, you can imagine that your account will be placed on Post No debit (PND)”.