Foreign currency demand: Central Bank injects US$1.2B into local market

…as Government unveils stricter Forex oversight measures

The Government of Guyana, through the Central Bank, has injected US$1.2 billion into the local financial system so far this year, more than triple the amount provided in the entire year of 2024, in an effort to meet rising demand for foreign currency.
President Dr Irfaan Ali made the disclosure on Monday during an engagement with the heads of commercial banks, where he outlined a new series of measures aimed at tightening oversight, reducing capital flight, and ensuring transparency in foreign exchange transactions.
“In 2024, the central bank placed about US$332 million into the system to clear demand. This year, we are already at US$1.2 billion, with about US$160 million in additional demand still in the system,” the President said, pointing to an extraordinary surge in credit card transactions as one of the drivers of foreign exchange outflows.
According to Ali, credit card clearances rose from US$91.3 million in 2023 to US$347.5 million in 2024. For 2025 so far, transactions have already reached US$252 million, even before the year-end holiday period. “That growth is extraordinary, and we must analyse whether personal credit cards are being used to settle business transactions… And we have to see also where the clearance is, and I just want to say this with the commercial banks here, because we intend to go deep and to have an analysis. We have to know what we are financing through the demand for foreign currency,” the President said.

Streamlining, intervention
To deal with these pressures, the Administration has announced a series of interventions that will reshape how foreign exchange requests are processed. Going forward, importers seeking foreign currency will be required to provide commercial invoices before their banks can release funds. Once goods arrive in Guyana, those invoices, along with bills of lading, will have to be submitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and to the commercial banks, ensuring that the shipments match the forex requested.
If importers fail to comply with this documentation process, they will not be able to access foreign currency for future requests. To streamline verification, commercial banks will now be required to forward invoices and bills of lading to the Bank of Guyana, effectively creating a centralised clearinghouse that will monitor and reconcile all transactions.
The President also signalled stricter rules for credit card use. Commercial banks will have to ensure that personal credit cards are not being misused for large business transactions or for importing goods, which he noted was becoming a loophole in the system. Entities found to be inflating invoices or engaging in related-party over-invoicing with the intent of moving money out of the country will face penalties.
Additional safeguards will also be implemented at Guyana’s borders. Persons leaving the country with large sums of foreign currency will have to declare not just receipts from commercial banks but also the source of funds obtained from Cambios and other licensed dealers. Meanwhile, companies registered under the local content framework must hold local bank accounts and ensure that oil and gas service payments are remitted in foreign currency to those accounts.

Transparency and discipline
In a bid to promote transparency and discipline, a new single-window reconciliation system will also be established at the Bank of Guyana to ensure that records from commercial banks, the central bank, and the GRA are properly aligned before any new foreign exchange request is approved. According to Ali, this measure will close gaps that currently allow some companies to use duplicate invoices at multiple banks, creating artificial demand for foreign currency.
“These interventions are about transparency, parity, and discipline,” the President emphasised, adding that the system will remove duplication and bring fairness to how foreign currency is distributed. He also stressed that the Government will closely monitor foreign direct investment inflows to ensure that overseas companies finance their own capital equipment rather than relying heavily on local banks and that dividend repatriation policies are applied responsibly.

Banks on board
Commercial bank representatives welcomed the reforms, noting that many of the proposed measures are already partially in place. They endorsed the creation of a centralised portal for invoice and customs clearance records, which will allow banks to verify transactions in real time.
Republic Bank described the measures as “overdue tightening” that would “bring more transparency”, while other banks said the single-window system will eliminate duplicate requests and level the playing field, especially for local companies operating in the oil and gas sector.
Ali said the policy adjustments reflect the need to safeguard Guyana’s macroeconomic stability amid unprecedented growth. “It is a challenge moving from US$300 million to US$1.2 billion in one year. This requires a deep dive. These measures are about protecting Guyana’s interests, ensuring transparency, and maintaining discipline in the financial system,” he stressed.