he directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that receipt of proceeds of international inward money transfer via Western Union and MoneyGram should be paid only in naira has been criticised by some bank customers.
The bank customers, who spoke to THISDAY in Lagos yesterday after receiving funds through money transfer services in naira, complained that they were shortchanged by the banks. While the directive was for banks to pay customers at the prevailing interbank rate on the day of payment, the customers alleged that the banks defied the directive.
“I was paid at an exchange rate of N159 to a dollar, which is low, compared to about N162 to dollar I used to get from the bureaux de change (BDC) operators,” Mr. Jide Akinmayowa said.
Another bank customer insisted that while it was proper for the central bank to checkmate money laundering, customers should be allowed to determine that currency they want to be paid in money transfer transactions.
As part of measures aimed at halting the perceived dollarisation of the economy and also to strengthen the naira, the CBN last week directed that receipts of international inward money transfers through Western Union and MoneyGram would henceforth be in naira only.
“Accordingly, authorised dealers are required to consciously display foreign exchange rate/naira in the banking hall and/ or via any medium for the guidance of the receipts.
“The Consumer Protection Department, CBN has therefore been directed to ensure recipients are fairly treated by the authorised dealers and any case of poor service delivery should be reported promptly to the CBN for appropriate sanction,” the CBN had added.
Speaking in an interview with THISDAY, the Head of Research at Sterling Capital Limited, Mr. Sewa Wusu, said the move was to help curtail the excessive demand for the greenback.
“If you discover lately, there is an increasing dollarisation of the economy and the policy was introduced to stem the tide. People are now using dollar as a medium of exchange, which is not good for the country,” he added.
M
eanwhile, some financial market experts yesterday said the re-introduction of the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) by the CBN would bring sanity to the forex market.
The naira closed at N155.75 to a dollar on the first trading session of the RDAS yesterday. The central bank offered a total of $300 million, whereas $187 million was sold.
According to the experts, the RDAS would help to check the excesses of BDC operators.
The Managing Director, Maxifund Securities Limited, Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu, said the policy would lead to a reduction in dollar demand at the official window.
Unegbu said that the measure would also enable the central bank to track the flow of the dollar into the country and reduce speculative trading of the naira. 