It’s no longer news that all the financial institutions in Nigeria have set up teller points for foreign exchange sales in furtherance of guidelines handed down by the Central Bank of Nigeria to them (CBN) to sanitise the forex market.
One of the actions of the apex bank on July 27, 2021, was that it announced the stoppage of FX to more than 5,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators across the country.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN personally read the riot act to the BDCs and says the weekly allocations to the BDC operators would be diverted to the commercial institution, which commenced on July 28, 2021, by even selling more fx to the banks as can be seen in our report at: https://infomediang.com/cbn-pumps-more-dollars-to-banks-to-meet-high-forex-demand
Another action that was taken to properly monitor the activities of forex sales by the banks was a directive that all they should as a matter of urgency set up Forex Teller Points (FTP) where Nigerians who need dollars, pounds, Euro and other foreign currencies for medical, educational, personal and business needs can buy them without delay.
What Are Forex Teller Points?
They are the first point of contact as mandated by the CBN for the daily financial transactions of foreign currencies with Nigerians who need FX for personal and business travels, education, and medicals abroad. The official in charge could be called a Forex teller.
CBN Official Exchange Rate Today:
As of Thursday, August, 2021, the CB rate of three major currencies are as follows:
1 Pound=568.47
Euro=480.74
USD=410.12
Source: trade.gov.ng/cbn/rates/search.do
List of Nigerian Banks that have setup forex teller points are:
- First City Monument Bank Limited
- Keystone Bank Limited
- Polaris Bank Limited
- United Bank for Africa Plc
- Access Bank Plc
- Fidelity Bank Plc
- Heritage Bank Plc
- Guaranty Trust Company (formerly GTB)
- Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
- Zenith Bank Plc
- First Bank of Nigeria Limited
- Citibank Nigeria Limited
- Globus Bank Limited
- SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited
- Providus Bank Limited
- Ecobank Nigeria
- Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc
- Titan Trust Bank Limited
- Unity Bank Plc
- Wema Bank PlcGlobus Bank Limited
- Standard Chartered
- Sterling Bank Plc
- SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited
- Providus Bank Limited
We take a look at how the roles of the Forex Teller Points at Nigerian banks will assist the CBN in eliminating dollar racketeering in the Forex market
1) They verify the true identity of a customer who makes a request and ensure that customer actually needs the foreign currencies for the purpose of claims in his application.
2) They exchange the Nigerian naira for dollars, Pounds, euros, and other foreign currencies the customer may need.
3) Forex bank tellers answer questions about the available FX honestly and diligently as mandated by the CBN.
4) If a customer claims that he needs fx to pay school fees abroad, it is the responsibility of the teller point official to forward it to the appropriate unity for verification as stipulated by the apex bank.
5) They are to take cash (naira), effect debit from the cards, or effect transaction from the bank account of a forex buyer under the consent of the buyer.
6) Forex teller bank official is to answer fx-related questions from customers
7) Exchange customers’ naira for foreign currency which is mostly paid into the account of the foreign destination point (medicals, foreign school fees)
8) By the monitoring mechanism put in place by the CBN, the forex teller officials are to electronically record every fx transaction to transparency.
9) They must also safely and accurately handle customer funds by verifying identity and taking other actions to prevent errors or fraud or illegal purchase of foreign currencies.
Only those who need them for certain services as stipulated by the CBN can access them in bank. For PTA and BTA, the requirements are available at: https://infomediang.com/forex-for-personal-travel-allowance-bta
10) He reports all the daily fx transactions to the head of operations who in turn is accountable to the foreign exchange unit of the CBN
We hope that the establishment of forex teller points in banks and the timely supply of fx to the commercial banks will help to sanitise the market and help in ending the seeming power of the BDC operators in the fx market.
