Experts have outlined measures that must be taken by Nigeria to improve foreign exchange remittance flows into Nigeria.
One of the measures is to reduce the cost of transactions for the diaspora to encourage them to send more forex to Nigeria.
At a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) roundtable held during the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington DC on Wednesday, stakeholders tapped other measures to include: provision of products that suit the diaspora community, availability of more ways to receive remittances, among others.
The session was attended by domestic and international stakeholders in the Nigerian forex market such as Lemfi, Flutterwave, J.P. Morgan, Remitly, VertoFx, Interswitch, BudPay, Makeba, TapTap Send, Visa, Venture Garden Group, and other players in the remittances industry.
During the meeting, some of the objectives outlined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) include;
The World Bank estimates Nigeria’s remittance inflows at $20.5 billion annually. However, in a move to augment foreign exchange inflows, the CBN revised its regulatory framework for remittance companies in January 2024.
Part of the revised guidelines include: the minimum paid-up share capital of remittance companies at N2 billion, as well as a minimum net worth of $1 million for the technical partners of these IMTOs.