Domiciliary account: Banks notify customers of $10,000 deposit limit

Nigerian banks have issued a notice to customers on the limit of transactions to domiciliary accounts in compliance with regulatory directives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Consequently, customers are to comply with a daily limit of $10,000 deposit either by inflow or cash deposit and a monthly cumulative of $20,000 (cash deposit) into their domiciliary accounts.

A notification by Fidelity Bank Plc. to its customers said it is mandatory that the purpose of payment is clearly stated.

All ‘supporting documents’ for foreign currency transfers to third parties such as Form M, Form A, Proforma Invoice, Medical, Insurance, School fees et cetera; must be provided.

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“Once your online request is received, our International Operations team will share feedback,” management of Fidelity Bank said.

Nigeria’s Central Bank had on February 2020, issued a circular to all banks, signed by Ozoemena Nnaji, director, trade, and exchange department, on ‘Clarification on operations of ordinary domiciliary accounts’, which stated that all ordinary domiciliary account holders can utilise cash deposits not exceeding USD10,000.00 or its equivalent by telegraphic transfers to fund eligible transactions.

At the Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC) briefing on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that the CBN would stop the weekly sale of foreign exchange to Bureaux de Change (BDCs) and that deposit money banks would henceforth sell to customers to meet their foreign exchange needs.

Sequel to the instruction, banks’ chief executives met and affirmed their readiness to meet the foreign exchange demands from genuine Foreign Exchange end-users as directed by the CBN.

Following the start of the CBN directive to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to sell foreign exchange to customers, for invisibles such as basic travel allowance, PTA, medical and tuition, the CBN has assured members of the banking public that the CBN will monitor the commercial banks to ensure they meet the legitimate FX demands of customers.

The CBN had dismissed speculations that it planned to convert the foreign exchange in domiciliary accounts of customers into naira.

Osita Nwanisobi, acting director of, corporate communications department, said the CBN had put in place a monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of foreign exchange to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation.

He dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the CBN planned to convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into naira in order to check the purported shortage of availability of the United States dollars.

Nwanisobi, while disclosing that the CBN never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the accounts of customers, insisted that those making such allegations were criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market.

He explained that at no time did the CBN ever suggest or imply that it would tinker with the foreign exchange deposits of customers. He, therefore, urged operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public to go about their legitimate foreign exchange transactions and disregard fictitious stories aimed at pitching them against the Bank and triggering chaos in the system.