CBI Changes Rules for Forex Accounts

EghtesadOnline: Buyers of the so-called “cheaper” currency must have a forex bank account with domestic financial institutions for moneychangers to transfer the sum only to those accounts.

News ID: ۷۵۲۴۴۴

23 April 2023

Buyers of the so-called “cheaper” currency must have a forex bank account with domestic financial institutions for moneychangers to transfer the sum only to those accounts
Banks and credit institutions are barred from paying the rial equivalent of deposits in foreign currency, a Central Bank of Iran official said.

"Withdrawals from forex accounts in rial is a violation of the rules of the Third Section of the Foreign Exchange Regulations. Banks are also barred from demanding customers agree to receive their [forex] deposits in rial," Soheil Nazari, the CBI's foreign currency market spokesman, was quoted as saying by IBENA.

The CBI last month implemented new measures to limit the amount of forex Iranians can buy and also raised exchange rates.

Per law, every Iranian can buy a fixed amount of currency at slightly lower rates compared to the open market by presenting their ID. The rule led to long lines of buyers who sold it in the open market at higher prices to make a profit.