Tehran, Iran, May 25
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad- Trend:
Licensed exchange offices in Iran have been given the permission to buy and sell foreign currencies via a recently-launched online system called NIMA, which is an integrated system for hard currency transactions.
The Central Bank of Iran has made some changes to the terms of a circular it issued recently over the country’s official and open market exchange rates, under which exchange bureaus have been given the right to buy, sell, or transfer foreign currencies again using the online system of NIMA, according to a report by ISNA news agency.
Before that, the priority for trading foreign currencies had been given to banks only, but now the exchange offices can also enjoy the same benefit, the report said.
Now people can refer to both banks and offices to buy, sell or transfer their currencies.
Recently, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani held an emergency meeting and decided to unify the country’s official and open market exchange rates in an attempt to stop the plunge of rial.
Following the meeting, the government announced the price of the dollar would be 42,000 rials in both markets, and for all business activities.
In line with returning calm to the market, one of the most recent steps by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has been to expand an already existing online system referred to by its Persian acronym NIMA.
NIMA was originally put in place in February as a pilot project and gradually took shape during the month of March. In its initial format, NIMA was designed as a central platform to register hard currency needs of importers and other groups “outside the banking sector.”
That system was meant to induce transparency into the dealings of foreign exchange bureaus, which have been an integral part of the country’s hard currency management system alongside other financial institutions.