Banks will accept forex deposits and pay interest in cash in the same currency, the Central Bank of Iran said.
In a press statement posted on its website, the central bank said that the provision is available from April 30 and is in the framework of reforms to curb currency smuggling.
“If customers deposit foreign currency the bank is obliged to pay the same banknote on demand plus interest in cash in the same currency,” the regulator said.
To ensure depositors, the CBI said it guarantees repayment of the principal and interest. It did not elaborate on the interest rates.
Late last month the CBI gave Iranians who hold forex banknotes beyond legally-set limits a three-month timeline to either sell their currency in the market or deposit it with banks.
As per the announced regulations, holding more than €10,000 will be considered contraband from August unless a valid document is shown that it was purchased from banks or authorized exchange bureaus.
Last month the parliament amended rules for fighting currency smuggling restricting the terms and conditions for trading and holding foreign currency.
The new law is an amendment to the earlier ‘Combating Goods and Forex Smuggling Law’ and was announced on Saturday.
Hereafter engaging in any sort of currency trade is prohibited unless one of the parties is a bank, credit institution or an authorized exchange bureau.
All currency deals must be registered in a special trade platform and buyers, sellers or dealers must abstain from incorrect or partial information.
In March the CBI unveiled an electronic platform to “facilitate” supply of foreign currency for retail buyers.
It enables the people to register their request for currency, submit the relevant documents, select the supplying exchange bureau and determine time of payment.
The rules officially ban forward deals in currency and gold coins. Such deals were previously prohibited by the CBI. Forward deals are contracts between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a future date.
No official data is available regarding the volume of foreign currency smuggled in and out of Iran. But given the new stringent rules, policymakers are apparently getting serious about fighting this scourge that has long harmed the economy and the national currency that continues to lose value as never before.
