CBN Moves To Ease Cross-Border Payment Bottlenecks For Businesses

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has identified cross-border payment bottlenecks and foreign exchange transaction processes as key areas of reform to improve Nigerian businesses’ participation in regional and international trade.

According to the apex bank, the 2026 Foreign Exchange Manual, Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), Nigerian FX Code and Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) were among the initiatives aimed at improving transparency in foreign exchange transactions and facilitating cross-border payments.

CBN Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Relations Department, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, stated this at the CBN Special Day at the ongoing 40th Lagos International Trade Fair, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on Thursday.

Sidi-Ali described the 2026 Foreign Exchange Manual as an important step in modernising the framework for foreign exchange transactions, particularly in trade documentation, export transactions and cross-border payments.

On the foreign exchange market, she said the CBN had introduced measures to strengthen price discovery, improve transparency and reinforce market conduct following the unification of the foreign exchange windows.

She identified EFEMS and the Nigerian FX Code as key initiatives supporting the development of a more transparent and rules-based foreign exchange market.

“These changes matter to importers, exporters, manufacturers and investors. A more transparent FX market provides a stronger basis for business planning and reduces the uncertainty associated with opaque trading arrangements,” she said.

On cross-border payments, Sidi-Ali said regional initiatives, including PAPSS, offered opportunities to facilitate transactions and support trade within Africa, particularly as Nigerian businesses sought to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“A manufacturer in Lagos supplying customers in Accra, Nairobi or Johannesburg needs reliable arrangements for receiving payment, managing transaction costs and conducting business across borders,” she said.

She said macroeconomic stability was also critical to strengthening the country’s trade competitiveness, noting that businesses needed a predictable environment to plan production, price their products and make investment decisions.

“Businesses need a stable macroeconomic environment in which they can plan, price their products, access financial services and make investment decisions with greater confidence,” she said.

Sidi-Ali said the CBN had, over the past three years, pursued reforms aimed at restoring monetary discipline, improving the functioning of the foreign exchange market and strengthening confidence in the Nigerian economy.

She disclosed that headline inflation moderated to 14.63 per cent in September 2026, from a peak of 34.8 per cent in November 2024, while economic activity had continued to expand.

However, she acknowledged that households and businesses continued to face considerable cost pressures.

On monetary policy, she recalled that the Monetary Policy Committee, at its 307th meeting in September 2026, reduced the Monetary Policy Rate from 26.5 per cent to 23 per cent and recalibrated the standing facilities corridor to strengthen monetary policy transmission.

The CBN director also said the Bank’s recapitalisation programme was aimed at strengthening the capacity of financial institutions to finance productive activities and support international trade.

“A stronger banking system is better positioned to intermediate savings, finance productive activities, support international trade and withstand economic shocks,” she said.