Sanusi: CBN to stop Forex cash sale to Bureau de change

Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said in Tokyo on Sunday that the bank would soon stop selling forex in cash to bureaux de change.

The new policy, he said, was informed by the realization that the forex sold by the BDCs is not used for transactions outside Nigeria, but rather used to move money around the country.

“Seventy per cent of the dollars that people buy from bureaux de change are not for transactions outside Nigeria, they move dollars from one part of the country to the other, in fact, from one part of Abuja to another part. In a briefcase, you can carry 100,000 dollars, that’s N50 million.

“We are coming up with policies; we are going to have to stop selling cash to BDC and credit their accounts. If you want to pay for medical bills abroad, you give hospital account; if you want to pay school fees, do transfer like everybody else; if you want to travel. Do travelers cheques or get money on your card.’’

He said that at the moment, the dollar was becoming Nigeria’s second national currency, becoming a source of worry to the apex bank and even to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sanusi noted that part of the reason why the bank moved to restructure the Naira was to tackle the genuine need of high net-worth cash users.