Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters, Abuja.
• Action to take effect from May 1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to deliver remittances through naira settlement accounts held with authorised dealer banks (ADBs).
The directive reiterated the position of the bank as contained in an earlier policy issued in 2024.
The bank also directed IMTOs to settle remittances using Bloomberg BMATCH real-time rates to enhance market transparency and confidence.
The directive, signed by the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, Musa Nakorji, applies to all disbursements to beneficiaries and related settlements from international money transfer operations.
Under the new guidelines, IMTOs may designate existing accounts or open new ones, and can operate multiple accounts with different ADBs.
The CBN said the settlement accounts must be used strictly for remittance inflows and proceeds from foreign exchange conversions carried out by licensed IMTOs or their agents with authorised participants in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
To improve transparency, the bank directed the IMTOs to price transactions using real-time rates from Bloomberg BMATCH.
It said the move would strengthen price discovery, reduce information gaps between IMTOs and banks, and support activity in the official foreign exchange market.
Authorised dealer banks are permitted to process foreign currency transfers from IMTO settlement accounts to other ADBs and approved market participants, including licensed bureau de change (BDC) operators.
The CBN also asked IMTOs to maintain proper transaction records for regulatory review and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing rules.
