Latest Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) News updates Today 26th April 2023

This article has Latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) News Today, 26th April 2023, most recent and relevant news, developments, and insights from the CBN and its stakeholders.

From policy updates and regulatory changes to market trends and industry analysis, Fox Nigeria has compiled comprehensive and important news as well as events affecting the Nigerian financial system.

CBN, World Bank reveal amount Nigerians abroad sent to relatives

A recent report by the World Bank has said Diaspora Nigerians have remitted about $168.33 billion to the country in the past eight years.

The report comes as foreign investment inflow into the country dipped in the period under review, mainly driven by a scarcity of forex, leading to the collapse of the naira.

The World Bank and Nigeria's Budget Office data reveal that Nigerians abroad played a prominent role in satisfying the impact of foreign exchange scarcity and keeping the country's forex reserve afloat.

The World Bank reported in 2022 that remittance inflow to Africa increased by 5.2% to $53 billion, with Nigeria getting the most significant share.

Data from the Washington-based bank stated that between 2025 and 2022, about $168.33 billion was repatriated home by Nigerians abroad.

An analysis of the figures shows that in 2015, Diaspora remittances were $21.2 billion, declining to $19.7 billion in 2016 and spiking to $22 billion in 2017.

As of 2018, total remittances amounted to $24.31 billion and dropped to $23.31 billion. Due to the pandemic, Diaspora Remittances plummeted to $17.21 billion and rebounded to $19.2 billion in 2021.

World Bank estimates that a total of $20.9 billion was remitted by Nigerians in Diaspora in 2022.

CBN policies driving dollar inflow into Nigeria
Punch reports that before 2020, the country's remittance inflows had dipped below $20 billion to $19.7 billion in 2016. The World says that Diaspora remittance will be one of the primary sources of non-oil foreign exchange earners for Nigeria in 2022.

According to the bank, the sustenance of the increase in Diaspora inflows in 2021 happened because of several policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

TheCable reports that the apex bank revealed that Nigeria recorded $2.4 billion in Diaspora remittances via its Naira 4 Dollar Scheme in 2022.

It introduced the policy in 2021, which pays N5 for every $1 received as a remittance inflow.

The bank's Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Ozoemena Nnaji, said that all through 2021, remittances recorded via the initiative were about $2.9 billion. In the eight months of 2022, the country had recorded approximately $2.4 billion.

“We have seen an increase in the Naira 4 Dollar regarding remittances. For example, in 2021, we recorded $2.9 billion of cash inflows, and so far this year, we have recorded $2.4 billion. So, in half of the year, we have gotten almost what we got in 2021,” Nnaji said.

NDIC begins customers verification for failed bank from 20 years ago

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has started verifying the insured depositors of Peak Merchant Bank in liquidation.

This is in line with its duty of deposit guarantee and reimbursement of depositors in case of bank failure.

NDIC gives instruction

According to a statement by the Director (Communication and Public Affairs), Bashir Nuhu, the verification process will help depositors to verify their account information and balances with the bank at the time of its closure.

It further noted that the verification exercise is a precursor to paying insured sums to the depositors, the Nation reports.

NDIC further advised depositors to visit the bank's old premises or the nearest NDIC office with proof of account ownership and identification documents for the exercise.

The NDIC also explained that the insured sum is the first payment made to depositors if a bank fails up to a specified limit, and amounts in excess of insured sums are subsequently paid as liquidation dividends from the proceeds of the closed bank's assets realized by NDIC as liquidator.

Banks talks about scarcity of new naira notes

As of today, Wednesday, April 19th, 2023, it is exactly eight months and 12 days until the expiration of the deadline for the old naira notes.

The situation appears to be unchanged as banks continue to predominantly pay customers with old naira notes.

During a visit to a commercial bank in Ikeja, a customer was observed complaining to a cashier in the banking hall.

The customer was unhappy that their N40,000 withdrawal, along with those of other customers, were all in old notes.

The surprised cashier explained that the bank had no control over the type of currency supplied, as they only received old notes from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

During an interview with Legit.ng, a branch manager at another commercial bank, who identified himself as Ifeanyi, expressed his belief that the Central Bank of Nigeria was unprepared for the new naira notes.

He went on to explain that 70 percent of every cash supply received from the CBN had been old notes.

His words:

“As bankers, we are also surprised. A lot of our customers believe the fault is ours, but it is not. We release what we receive from the CBN to our customers.
“It takes almost two years for new notes to be in full supply anywhere in the world. I am worried about what will happen again by December based on the current situation.”

Attempts to contact Isa Abdulmumin, the CBN spokesman, in order to gain clarity on the limited supply of new naira notes, were unsuccessful at the time of writing this report.

CBN licenses UK payment firm to take on Flutterwave, Paystack, others in Nigeria

The Nigerian fintech ecosystem will witness a new baby as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted a license to a UK payment company to operate in the country.

The London-based fintech company, Unlimint, has secured a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The company will lock horns with Africa's payment giant, Flutterwave, Appzine, Paystack, Payday, and Chipper Cash, among others in Nigeria.

Per Unlimint, the license enables it to operate as a legitimate payment service provider in Nigeria. It delivers various payment services and means to help local businesses expand their reach and service offerings.

Nairametrics reports that CBN's guidelines allow organizations with PSSP licenses to operate payment gateways and portals, develop payment solutions and applications and provide merchant service aggregation and collection.

The company's for Africa and India, Trevor Goott, said it is the company's vision to be a key player in the region and to ride on the waves of digital and tech explosions across the fintech ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa.

Goott said:

“The Nigerian economy holds significant potential for fostering the development of innovative organizations such as Unlimint.

Goott said Unlimint's launch in Nigeria is the first step in the company's African market expansion, with other announcements coming soon.

Experts believe that Unlimint's launch in Nigeria will offer struggling small businesses the choice of expanding their services and payment options.

Last year, CBN suspended the use of naira cards for international payments in Nigeria, restricting companies from using their naira cards for online transactions.

The likes of Flutterwave discontinued the use of virtual dollar cards for international payments, citing issues.

However, Chipper Cash, Payday, and others offering virtual dollar cards have been criticized for excessive charges and for using black market exchange rates on their virtual cards.

Unlimint was established in 2009 to offer an extensive portfolio of financial services, including payment processing, banking as a service (BaaS), and fiat solutions for crypto, DeFi, and GamFi.

Unlimint employs about 500 people across five continents, including Frankfurt, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, and Mexico.