(Reuters) – Burundi’s central bank said on Friday it had lifted a ban it imposed in February 2020 on foreign exchange bureaus with the aim of weeding out operators flouting official exchange rates.
The Central African country faced a shortage of hard currency in the wake of a 2015 political crisis that prompted donors to suspend aid, but this year the European Union agreed to resume financial support and the United States pledged aid.
During the two-year ban on foreign exchange bureaus, currency traders continued to buy and sell foreign currency on the black market, where the Burundian franc trades at a steep discount to the official rate.
Foreign exchange bureaus will have to register with the central bank to re-open.
(Editing by Alexander Winning)
