“A foreign currency account (maintained by individuals) shall not be credited with any foreign exchange purchased from an authorised dealer, exchange company or money changer except allowed by the State Bank through general or special permission under any law,” said the Foreign Currency Account Rules 2020. “The objective of attracting investment in saving certificates is to stabilise and build up the country’s foreign exchange reserves. The practice led to an increase in deposits at commercial banks and slashed the country’s foreign currency reserves managed by the State Bank. “The government has apparently introduced the new regulations to better manage foreign exchange reserves,” Bostan said. Foreign Currency Account Rules 2020 says, “There shall be no restriction on cash withdrawal or transfer from the foreign currency account.”A foreign currency account may be credited through transfer from other individual foreign currency account, according to the regulations.

Source: The Express Tribune October 11, 2020 04:18 UTC