Fakoyejo OlalekanThe RT200 FX Programme and the Naira4Dollar scheme will be phased out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the apex bank’s decision to unify the multiple exchange rates.
According to the CBN in a statement on Wednesday, the financial regulator said the RT200 FX Programme and the Naira4Dollar scheme will end on 30 June 2023.
CBN in the statement said there will be, “Cessation of RT200 Rebate Scheme and the Naira4Dollar Remittance Scheme, with effect from 30 June 2023,” the statement reads.
Prime Business Africa gathered that the CBN has decided to close the curtain on the RT200 Rebate Scheme and the Naira4Dollar Remittance Scheme since the unification of the exchange rates will reduce the gap between the official window and the black market.
Why CBN ended RT200 FX, Naira4Dollar programmes?
Initially, the RT200 FX Programme and the Naira4Dollar scheme were created by the central bank to lure foreign exchange buyers and sellers back to the investors’ and exporters’ window of the official market.
The gap between the official window and black market dollar rates had led to the migration of forex buyers and sellers to the latter, where the United States currency is sold at a premium of N760.3/$1 as of Tuesday, compared to the N471.67/$1 rate it was offered the same day in the official channel.
This indicates N288.63 kobo gap between the official window and the black market, however, due to the floating of the naira on Wednesday, the gap was reduced to N96.26 kobo, as the naira to the dollar exchange rate in the official market closed at N664.04/$1, while the USD traded at an average rate of N760.3/$1 in the parallel market.
With the gap contracted by N192.37 or 66.6%, the CBN is betting on the unification triggering an influx of forex buyers or high repatriation of fx proceeds in the official market, since the gap is now N96.26 kobo and authorised dealers are trading at market-determined rates without CBN restriction on pricing.
Meanwhile, the CBN also stated in the circular that: “All segments are now collapsed into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. Applications for medicals, school fees, BTA/PTA, and SMEs would continue to be processed through deposit money banks.”
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