Remittances flow into Nigeria has improved from a weekly average of about $5 million before policy directives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to over $30 million per week, Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN said on Friday.

This could mean that the monies that were usually sent to Nigeria via informal channels are now being sent through formal means, thanks to the CBN policy that allows recipients to withdraw the proceeds in foreign currency.

In December 2020, the CBN instructed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to provide remitters with the option of sending foreign exchange to beneficiaries in Nigeria.

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“This new measure has helped to reduce the diversion of fx by some IMTOs, who had thrived from fx arbitrage arrangements, rather than on improving transactions volumes to Nigeria,” Emefiele said at the Vanguard Economic Summit Friday.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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