(JUBA) – The Bank of South Sudan (BOSS) will hold a foreign exchange auction on Monday, 4 August 2025, giving commercial banks a chance to buy US Dollars directly from the Central Bank. The auction is part of a wider plan to make the currency market more open and transparent, and to bring more trust into the financial system.
Banks taking part can choose the amount of US Dollars they want to buy and the exchange rate they are willing to pay in South Sudanese Pounds (SSP). The Central Bank will then decide which bids to accept based on how fair and competitive the offers are.
The auction is open only to licensed commercial banks. It will run from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. After that, the Central Bank will review the bids and announce results within the next hour.
Banks that use the Refinitiv trading platform must submit bids through it. Banks without access to Refinitiv can still take part by emailing scanned and signed bid forms. The Central Bank has provided specific email addresses for this.
Once the results are released, all winning banks must pay for the dollars immediately. They must deposit physical SSP into their Central Bank accounts. Full settlement must happen within 24 hours, and using wire transfers to BOSS’s Nostro account is preferred.
Here is a summary of the key details:
| Auction Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Auction Date | Monday, 4 August 2025 |
| Time for Bids | 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM |
| Who Can Bid | Licensed commercial banks only |
| Currency Being Auctioned | US Dollars |
| Settlement Time | Within 24 hours of results |
| Payment Method | Physical SSP or wire transfer to BOSS Nostro |
| Exchange Rate | Banks can quote their own rate |
Why This Matters
This auction is more than just a sale of foreign currency. It is a policy tool. By letting banks bid for dollars openly, the Central Bank hopes to bring market rates closer to reality and reduce the gap between official rates and those in the informal market.
South Sudan has been facing a dollar shortage for years. Many businesses and importers buy foreign currency at high rates from informal traders. This puts pressure on prices and contributes to inflation.
A clear, competitive auction could help bring some of that demand back into the formal banking system. It would also show that the Central Bank is trying to manage the market using rules instead of controls.
For example, if a bank wants to buy 100,000 US Dollars, and the exchange rate they offer is 4,700 SSP per Dollar, they would need to pay 470 million SSP, or roughly 102,174 USD, based on July’s official rate of 1 USD = 4,600 SSP.
While the auction is a positive step, it may not solve everything. The total amount of dollars available has not been disclosed. If the supply is too small, demand will remain high in the black market. If the process is not fair or predictable, confidence could fall again.
Also, if only a few banks win every time, smaller banks and their clients may still struggle to get access to foreign currency. That would limit the auction’s impact on the wider economy.
Still, this auction is seen as a signal that the Central Bank is trying to improve. More open processes, clear rules, and reliable communication are all signs of better financial governance.
If BOSS continues holding regular, well managed auctions, this could help stabilise the exchange rate, slow down inflation, and make it easier for traders and companies to plan ahead.
For now, all eyes will be on how Monday’s auction is handled. The results will offer a glimpse into how serious the Central Bank is about reform and whether South Sudan is ready to take stronger control of its currency market.
For more information, banks are advised to contact the Financial Markets Department at the Bank of South Sudan directly.
