Remittances flow into Nigeria has improved from a weekly average of about $5 million before policy directives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to over $30 million per week, Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN said on Friday.
This could mean that the monies that were usually sent to Nigeria via informal channels are now being sent through formal means, thanks to the CBN policy that allows recipients to withdraw the proceeds in foreign currency.
In December 2020, the CBN instructed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to provide remitters with the option of sending foreign exchange to beneficiaries in Nigeria.
“This new measure has helped to reduce the diversion of fx by some IMTOs, who had thrived from fx arbitrage arrangements, rather than on improving transactions volumes to Nigeria,” Emefiele said at the Vanguard Economic Summit Friday.
– Businessday