Regulatory Alerts2021-01-01
Bank of Zambia Revised Circular No. 08/2021 on Foreign Currency Cash Transactions
The Bank of Zambia has issued revised directives establishing daily monetary limits for foreign currency cash transactions processed by commercial banks. The updated framework caps daily deposits at US$100,000 for corporations and US$20,000 for individuals, while restricting daily purchases and sales to between US$5,000 and US$10,000 based on account holder status. Commercial banks must enforce Know-Your-Customer protocols, submit weekly transaction reports every Monday, and apply these limits cumulatively across all customer accounts.
# BANK of ZAMBIA
## OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR - OPERATIONS
BOZ/EXEC/DGO/banksup/am
June 9, 2021
CB Circular No : 08/2021
To : All heads of Commercial Banks
## REVISED CIRCULAR NO. 08/2021 ON DIRECTIVES ON FOREIGN CURRENCY CASH TRANSACTIONS
Kindly be advised that we have revised CB Circular No. 08/2021 dated June 4, 2021 as follows:
### 1. DAILY CASH DEPOSITS BY, OR CASH PURCHASES FROM ACCOUNT HOLDERS
| Registered Companies and Organisations | US$100,000 (United States Dollars One Hundred Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Individuals | US$20,000 (United States Dollars Twenty Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
### 2. DAILY CASH PURCHASES FROM NON-ACCOUNT HOLDERS
| Registered Companies and Organisations | US$5,000 (United States Dollars Five Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Individuals | US$5,000 (United States Dollars Five Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
### 3. DAILY CASH WITHDRAWALS BY, OR CASH SALES TO ACCOUNT HOLDERS
| Registered Companies and Organisations | US$10,000 (United States Dollars Ten Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Individuals | US$10,000 (United States Dollars Ten Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
...2/-
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All Commercial Banks
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June 9, 2021
### 4. DAILY CASH SALES TO NON-ACCOUNT HOLDERS
| Registered Companies and Organisations | US$5,000 (United States Dollars Five Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Individuals | US$5,000 (United States Dollars Five Thousand only) or its equivalent in other currencies |
Further, the Bank of Zambia wishes to advise that the limit for deposits by bureaux de change into their foreign currency accounts held with commercial banks has been set at US$100,000 per day and the amount of foreign currency cash withdrawals will be limited to the amount of foreign currency cash deposited on that particular day and in any case shall not exceed US$100,000. These special limits are intended to provide bureaux de Change with the flexibility to withdraw foreign currency cash deposits made on any particular day to support their daily foreign currency cash operations. In this regard, please note that the limit of the lower of US$20,000 or 70 percent of regulatory capital per day which applies to the aggregate OTC foreign currency cash purchases is still applicable as provided for under NB Circular No 02/2021 Section 4.1.
In engaging in these transactions, commercial banks must ensure that they comply with the law and directives with regard to “Know-Your-Customer” and reporting requirements as prescribed by the Financial Intelligence Centre Act of 2010 and the Bank of Zambia Anti-Money Laundering Directives.
In addition, commercial banks will continue to submit to the Bank of Zambia, Bank Supervision Department, the weekly return as per attached template on all foreign currency cash deposits and/or cash purchases from account holders every Monday for the preceding week.
The Bank of Zambia also wishes to urge commercial banks to advise all their customers that these limits are cumulative across all multiple accounts that may be held within one bank and/or with different banks.
**Francis Chipimo (PhD)**
DEPUTY GOVERNOR – OPERATIONS
Cc
Governor
Deputy Governor – Administration
Director – Bank Supervision
Director – Non-Bank Financial Institutions Supervision
Bank Square, Cairo Road, P.O. Box 30080, Lusaka, Zambia Tel:+260-211-399303, 399300, E-mail: dgo@boz.zm. Web: http://www.boz.zm
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