Twelve apply for cambio license

The last few weeks have been quiet on the foreign exchange scene, and during that time prospective operators of newly enfranchised casas de cambio have been getting their applications in order. According to a release from the Central Bank, regulations establishing the exchange houses will take effect on Monday April, fifteenth. Twelve prospective currency traders have applied for licenses, three each in San Pedro and Belize City, two in Orange Walk and one each in Corozal, Dangriga, Benque Viejo and Punta Gorda. Applicants pay a non-refundable up front fee of five hundred U.S. dollars and, if successfully licensed, an annual fee of five thousand U.S. dollars. At the same time the exchange houses are licensed, the Central Bank says it will crack down on illegal traders, who are liable for a fine of up to ten thousand dollars or jail time as long as a year. The idea behind the casas de cambio is to bring the illegal market in foreign exchange under some kind of regulation and in so doing make it less subject to psychological influences.