Apex bank pegs Dollar rate for school fees, PTA at N375

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pegged the Naira exchange rate for payment of school fees (strictly universities) abroad and Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) at N375 to the dollar.

This according to a report by ThisDay Newspaper is in line with the FG's determination to boost dollar supply in the economy as well as to bridge the wide gap between the interbank foreign exchange (FX) market and the parallel market.

It was reported that the central bank made this known after a meeting with all chief executive officers of commercial banks as well as other authorised FX dealers in Lagos.

According to the report, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who chaired the meeting, assured that the central bank would provide enough dollars to meet all FX demands for these invisible items.

“For tuition fees, the CBN said it would only cater for those in the universities and the persons involved can only get $15,000 per term and the FX would be wired directly to the school abroad. We (the banks) were all told to ensure compliance and that heavy sanction awaits any authorised FX dealer that flouts this rule,” the source added.

It was also reported that applicants for FX for tuition fees must have tax clearance certificates and Bank Verification Number.

The move, according to another source is to drastically reduce FX round-tripping which appears to be one of the factors responsible for the wide gap between the interbank FX market and the parallel market.

On Friday, February 17, 2017, the Naira maintained its value of N516 to the dollar on the parallel market.