Banks To Digitise FX Sales And Sanction Fraudulent Customers

Bankers’ committee, on Thursday, announced plans to begin the sale of foreign exchange to customers.

Gatekeepers News reports that the sales will commence through the platform of the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

The committee is a forum of chief executives of Nigerian banks and the directors of the different departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, as the chairman.

Emefiele said the apex bank would channel weekly allocations of dollar sales to commercial banks to meet legitimate FX demands.

Speaking with newsmen at the end of the bankers’ committee meeting, Segun Agbaje, group managing director of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), said that foreign exchange for personal travel allowance (PTA), tuition fees, among others, would soon be sold online.

Agbaje said, “I hope that many of you will see that the new Foreign Exchange policy with regards to Invisibles, Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), tuition fees, and medical payments, is working very well.

“We have taken it upon ourselves along with the regulator to make sure that this works; and this is just the first phase and if you noticed most of the things you are doing today, you are going into the branches to do most things.

“But, we are going to also try to digitise this whole thing the way the world is going; and that is being done by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) where you will be able to buy online.”

According to him, the NIBSS already has a portal, through which banks share information on the application process.

Agbaje warned fraudulent individuals to have a change of mind as any one caught would not be able to do anything in the banking system again.

He further said the punishment would not only be meted to fraudulent individuals, but also to any bank and staff that contravened the apex bank’s rules.