The Reserve Bank of India cancelled 201 licenses of full-fledged money changers (FFMC) in Chennai. These include units of American Express, GR Thangamaligai Jewellery and Sterling Holiday Financial Services. The public may not be inconvenienced as forex options are now available at nearly every bank branch. FFMC licenses were issued by RBI to widen access of foreign exchange facilities for Indians, foreigners, and NRIs at all major tourist destinations, metros and those on holidays. While RBI did not ascribe any reasons for the cancellation of the licenses, it is mentioned that the regulator carries out this weeding operation to root out FFMCs that have been inactive or delayed commencing operations or violated some RBI rules like improper book keeping and mismatch in conversion rates.
