Annual US Dollar Remittances to Nigeria Surge to $34 Billion but Forex Woes P...
According to a report, the value of annual dollar remittances by Nigerians working abroad has surged to $34 billion, a figure that easily surpasses the previous record-high of $25 billion. Still, a large portion of the funds doesn’t seem to be entering domestic forex markets. Target Attained Two Years Ahead of Schedule The increase, which has been attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s “naira for dollar” incentive scheme, once again highlights the growing importance of diaspora remittances to Africa’s most populated country. As Biodun Adedipe,....
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According to the latest data from the World Bank, international money transfers into Nigeria dropped by nearly 40% from $23.8 billion recorded in 2019 to $17.2 billion in the past year. Yet despite this fall, remittances, which account for 4% of the country’s GDP, still remain an important source of foreign exchange for the oil-rich country. Migrants Shunned Official Channels As shown by the data, Nigeria has only previously recorded a yearly total remittance inflow of below $20 billion just once since 2011. This occurred in 2016 when a total of $19.7 billion in official remittances....
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a scheme that seeks to boost international remittances as well as to encourage the use of official corridors when retrieving funds. The CBN’s move to incentivise recipients follows the plummeting of the country’s official remittances inflows as recipients opt for non-traditional corridors such as cryptocurrencies. Declining Remittances Under the CBN’s so-called “naira for dollar scheme,” recipients of international remittances will be entitled to an extra payment equivalent to 1.2 cents (5 naira) for every one....
Bitcoin is growing in popularity in Africa particularly in regions such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana. This week the Hong Kong-based Bitspark has launched a remittance service to Nigeria at rates 14.4 percent better than competitors, by leveraging the speed and efficiency of the Bitcoin network. Bitspark Offers Cheaper Remittances by Leveraging the....
The uncertainty that prevails in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market is partly to blame for the plunge in cross-border remittances into the country, an official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. Covid-19 Another Contributing Factor According to a report by local news outlet Punch, the official, Abebe Selassie, said this in response to a question posed to him during a virtual press briefing. However, in his two-part response to the question, Selassie starts by acknowledging the impact the global Covid-19 pandemic has had on cross-border remittances in general. He....
Nigeria is once again Sub Sahara Africa’s biggest recipient of remittances into the region where the money transfers went up by 6.2 percent to $45 billion, a new World Bank report has shown.
The Impact of Nigerian Policies on Remittances
According to the November 17, 2021 press release, this increase in the value of funds sent is in fact a rebound from the total remittances that were sent by Nigerians in the corresponding period last year. The statement partly attributes this increase to measures that were introduced by the country’s monetary authorities in the....