The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to open dedicated naira settlement accounts with authorized dealer banks in a move set to overhaul how diaspora remittances enter Nigeria.
The move, contained in a circular dated March 24, 2026, and signed by Dr. Musa Nakorji, Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, was published on the CBN’s website on Tuesday. It takes effect from May 1, 2026, giving operators just over a month to comply.
In the circular, the apex bank leaves no room for ambiguity: “All IMTOs are hereby directed to open naira settlement accounts and ensure that all transactions are routed strictly through their designated settlement accounts, maintained with Authorized Dealer Banks (ADBs) in Nigeria.” Every inflow, every disbursement to beneficiaries, and every related settlement must now pass exclusively through these accounts.
Operators may keep multiple accounts across different banks if it suits their business model, but the funding rules are ironclad—the accounts “shall only be credited with remittance flows and proceeds of foreign exchange conversions by licensed IMTOs (or their agents)” operating inside Nigeria’s formal foreign exchange market.
IMTOs must formally designate the accounts, submit full details to the CBN, and provide updates whenever required. Authorized dealer banks, for their part, have been given fresh powers to move foreign currency from these settlement accounts to other banks and approved participants—including licensed Bureau de Change operators—in a bid to smooth liquidity across the system.
Pricing discipline is another cornerstone of the new regime. IMTOs shall observe real-time market prices from the Bloomberg BMATCH and utilize this as guidance for pricing transactions with their customers and authorized dealers. “The CBN says the measure will ‘improve price discovery, reduce information asymmetry between IMTOs and banks, and encourage increased participation in the official FX market.”
The regulator has also reminded all parties of their obligations to keep proper records and maintain full compliance with anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing rules. “This directive takes effect from May 1, 2026,” the circular concludes. “Please note and ensure compliance.”
For an economy that relies heavily on remittances — which routinely outstrip oil export earnings and provide a vital lifeline for millions of households — the directive represents the latest and perhaps most decisive push by the CBN to drag these inflows out of the shadows and into the formal banking system.
By forcing every naira and every dollar through traceable, regulated channels, the central bank hopes to boost transparency, tighten traceability, and give itself a clearer view of exactly how much foreign exchange is entering the country and at what rate.
The timing is telling. Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has been under sustained pressure, with persistent gaps between official and parallel-market rates. By anchoring IMTO pricing to Bloomberg’s real-time platform and restricting settlement to authorized banks, the CBN is effectively trying to shrink that arbitrage window and funnel more liquidity into the official window.
Whether the May 1 deadline will be met smoothly remains to be seen. IMTOs will have to reconfigure operations, open new accounts, and retrain staff. Banks, meanwhile, must prepare to handle a surge in settlement activity and the attendant compliance burden. Yet the central bank’s message is unmistakable: from next month onward, the days of loosely documented, multi-layered remittance channels are numbered.
The circular was addressed not only to IMTOs and authorized dealer banks but also to the general public—a clear signal that the CBN expects the entire ecosystem, from Lagos-based banks to the millions of Nigerians abroad sending money home, to fall in line.
For an economy still battling inflation and currency volatility, the regulator is betting that greater oversight today will deliver a more stable and transparent foreign exchange market tomorrow.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The CBN has ordered all international money transfer operators to channel diaspora remittances exclusively through regulated naira settlement accounts with authorized banks, effective May 1, 2026.
The core goal is simple: bring billions of dollars in remittance flows out of informal channels and into a fully traceable, compliant system—while anchoring transaction pricing to Bloomberg’s real-time rates to close the gap between official and parallel market exchange rates.
For everyday Nigerians receiving money from abroad, the process itself may not change much, but behind the scenes, every transaction will now be monitored far more closely.
