The Bankers’ Committee has said that Nigerians have begun to defraud the new forex regime, but customers who are defrauding the system will be reported to security agencies for them to be dealt with.
The Chief Executive Officers of banks said this during a virtual briefing.
Last month at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the apex bank said it will no longer sell the weekly $20,000 to Bureau de Change operators due to gross misconduct.
But Nigerians are already introducing the tricks they used on BDCs, according to the forum for the chief executives of Nigerian banks.
The Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe said, “I think for me it is very straightforward; banks have in the past been criticised for not being able to handle PTAand BTA transactions.
“Just to let people know that we will still exercise diligence required, foreign exchange is a very scarce resource so, we find out people come to buy with tickets that are expired, tickets that are going to be cancelled.
“For instance, passports that are not legitimate by anyway, we will report them to the law enforcement agencies for them to deal with those people.”
The Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Segun Agbaje said that under the new forex regime, the Bankers’ Committee is working to digitize the process.
He also noted with concern how customers have already started to defraud the process.
He said, “We have started to see that people are trying to defraud the system, we would capture this on the portal.
“And the banks will report the individuals to the CBN. The likely punishment is that your account would be PND. And if you understand what that means, PND means you would not be able to do anything in the banking system.
“So, while we are committed, this is not for people who want to game the system, this is for people who have genuine needs. And so fraudulent transactions or fraudulent individuals will be reported to the CBN and the portal would help us do this.”
Agbaje said the new FX policy with regards to invincibles, PTA and BTA, school fees and health is working very well.
He noted, “The banks have taken it upon ourselves along with the regulators to make sure this works.
“This is just the first phase and if you notice, most of the things you are doing today you are going into the branches to do most things, but we are also going to try and digitise this whole thing. The way the world is going, an app is being created by NIBBS where you would be able to apply online.
“Today, the NIBBS already has a portal where the banks share information and what we do is to make sure that the rules around being able to apply for PTA or BTA once a quarter by bringing in your ticket is enhanced. With this, we would be sharing your information on the portal.”
