Polaris Bank updates forex forms guidelines for students, importers

Polaris Bank has informed customers of updates on the guidelines for Forms A and Q requests.

In an email to customers, the bank said the updates followed the new foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The forms are application documents designed by the CBN to facilitate access to forex exchange (FX).

While Form A is designed to pay for service transactions (invisible trade) like foreign tuition, training courses, and medical bills; Form Q allows importers and small-scale businesses to buy forex at from the official window.

On June 14, Nigeria’s financial regulator announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market.

The development signalled the collapse of all FX windows into the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

Due to the new policy, Polaris Bank said all Form A and Q requests will be determined by the predominant price at the official market, encouraging customers to fund their accounts sufficiently.

The firm said the changes are applicable to all new and existing Form A and Form Q transactions.

“In line with the changes in the CBN foreign exchange policy, the following updates have been made on Form A (personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA), school fees and medical fees; and Form Q requests,” Polaris Bank said.

“All applications would continue to be processed through the bank.

“All regulatory documentation requirements remain the same. CBN will no longer determine the foreign currency exchange rate.

“The rate will be determined by the prevailing investors and exporters (I&E) window rate at the time of purchase.

“We advise all applicants to adequately fund their accounts with the naira equivalent at the I&E window rate.

“These changes apply to all new and existing Form A and Form Q transactions.”