Traffic in Lagos was hellish this weekend. Individuals invested 6 hours on trips that take one hour in normal times. My theory is that IJGBs-- our dear cousins and aunts returning briefly to Nigeria for the holidays-- are overburdening our tiny roads by throwing their weights about town.
My theory is very baseless though and, honestly, we shouldn't be selecting battles with IJGBs knowing the essential role they play in our economy. Remittances from Nigerians in diaspora kept families and companies liquid during the pandemic, and will be more indispensa How do we get our faves to remit more please?In this edition, we highlight the Central Bank of Nigeria's current proceed diaspora remittances as a march towards harmonizing/tracking the inflow of dollars into the financial system.
ut initially, please sign up for this newsletter if you are yet to. And find all previous editions here.WHAT'S HAPPENING Make it rain, but in dollarsThree weeks ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) published a two-page circular with a surprising update.Basically, when someone abroad sends out dollars to a beneficiary in Nigeria, the cash will no longer be gotten in naira. Recipients are now to get the remittance in dollars either in money over-the-counter or in their household accounts. Each recipient chooses what she prefers.The notification was directly for CBN-licensed global cash transfer operators-- Flutterwave, Moneygram, RIA, Western Union, and so on. They are to ensure this new policy takes effect. International cash transfer operators (IMTO) that keep paying recipients in naira instead of dollars welcome the rage of the apex bank and might lose their license to run.'s recent announcements have appeared exchange rate of naira to other currencies hurried and high-handed-- for instance, questionable penalties for failed direct debits-- lots of people were uncertain what to make of this. On December 16, CBN released an instruction leaving out mobile cash operators from the remittance procedure. MoMo operators are to disable their wallets from receiving remittances from IMTOs.
The same document bars payment processors and payment service providers from incorporating with IMTOs as far remittance is concerned.The glue binding these 2 is in the upgrade released on December 2. IMTOs are to ensure they pass the dollars implied to be remitted to beneficiaries through commercial banks. These banks have actually likewise been ordered to close all IMTOs naira accounts.
n other words, the CBN is attempting to develop a direct remittance architecture that looks something like this: