CBN issues license to 11 new Int’l money transfer operators

Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has issued license to 11 new International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs). This was disclosed in a statement released by the apex bank's Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor yesterday August 30th. The new entrants are joining Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria, which had been cleared by the CBN.  The new operators are Trans-Fast Remittance LLC; WorldRemit Limited, UAE Exchange Centre LLC; Wari Limited, Homesend S.C.R.L, Small World Financial Services Group Limited and Weblink International Limited. Others are Cash Pot Limited, DT&T Corporation Limited, Fiem Group LLC DBA Ping Express and CP Express Limited. According to the CBN, the new entrants were licensed as part of efforts to liberalise the Foreign Exchange Market, ensure liquidity and make foreign exchange more readily available to low end users.

Part of the statement reads

“The CBN wishes to state, unequivocally, that it has not foreclosed the licensing of interested players in the IMTO space in Nigeria. Therefore, interested applicants are required to forward their requests for licensing to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, in line with the CBN Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (2014), which among other things, specifies the minimum technical and business requirements for various participants in the international money transfer services industry in Nigeria.
The CBN remains committed to providing an enabling environment for international money transfer services in Nigeria. It is, however, important to emphasise that a prospective player shall first obtain the requisite licence to operate in Nigeria as an IMTO. The CBN wishes to advise Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the unwholesome activities of some unlicensed IMTOs in Nigeria. This warning has become necessary because of the activities of some unregistered IMTOs, whose modes of operation are detrimental to the Nigerian economy".