Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed all International Money Transfer Operators, IMTOs operating in the country to open and maintain Naira settlement accounts with authorised dealer banks.
The apex bank said on Monday, that the directive is part of efforts to improve transparency in the foreign exchange market and tighten control on Foreign currencies being sent to the country by Nigerians living abroad.
Apart from the forex from crude oil sales, foreign remittances is the second largest forex earnings for the federal government of Nigeria.
In 2024, forex remittances, according to data from the CBN totalled $2.3 billion while in 2025 Nigeria earned $2.07 billion, as total receipt from forex remittances from Nigerians in the diaspora.
But sources in the CBN said the apex bank has discovered that a large part of diaspora remittances had not been accounted for because they were routed through informal sources.
The development had forced the CBN to issue the latest directive to further tighten grip on most diaspora remittances, and ensure transparency, insiders in the bank said on Wednesday.
According to the directive contained in a circular dated March 24, 2026, signed by the Director, Department of Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Musa Nakorji, and addressed to IMTOs, authorised dealer banks and the general public, the CBN said the aim is to “strengthening transparency, traceability, and effective monitoring of all transactions,” in all diaspora remittances.
The apex bank said “all IMTOs are hereby directed to open naira settlement accounts and ensure that all transactions are routed strictly through their designated settlement accounts, maintained with Authorised Dealer Banks in Nigeria.”
The apex bank said in the circular that all transactions related to international money transfers, including disbursements to beneficiaries and other settlements, must be processed exclusively through the designated accounts.
It said IMTOs may designate existing accounts or open new ones and are allowed to operate multiple settlement accounts across different ADBs.
The CBN stressed that such accounts must be credited with remittance flows and proceeds of foreign exchange conversions by licensed IMTOs (or their agents) with authorised market participants in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
Accordingly, the CBN directed IMTOs to notify its trade and exchange department of all designated settlement accounts and provide updates when necessary.
The bank said the ADBs may process foreign currency transfers from IMTO settlement accounts to other authorised dealers and approved participants, including bureau de change (BDC) operators, to enhance market efficiency.
For effective pricing, the CBN directed the IMTOs to benchmark their rates against real-time market prices on Bloomberg’s BMatch platform.
“IMTOs shall observe real-time market prices from the Bloomberg BMatch and utilise this as guidance for pricing transactions with their customers and authorised dealers,” the apex bank said.
“This directive takes effect from May 1, 2026,” according to the CBN.
Meanwhile, experts in the sector insist that the directive may further reduce diaspora remittances into the country, as well as slashed forex earnings for the federal government.
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