Abuja, Feb. 6, 2025 – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restricted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to source up to $25,000 weekly from a single authorised dealer bank to meet their foreign exchange needs for eligible invisible transactions.
The apex bank gave the directive through a circular signed by Dr. W. J. Kanya, the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.
The circular, dated Feb. 5, 2025, sets compliance requirements aimed at promoting transparency and curbing potential forex misuse.
Under the new guidelines, BDCs are expected to source for the allotted forex from a single authorised dealer bank per week as the restriction is aimed at preventing speculative activity and ensuring better oversight. Any BDC found violating this rule will face appropriate sanctions from the CBN.
Authorised dealers must sell foreign exchange to BDCs at the prevailing rate in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window to ensure consistency in pricing.
The CBN has imposed a 1% cap on the margin which the BDCs can charge end-users above their purchase price., adding that the one per cent margin applies to all forex sold by BDCs, irrespective of its source.
To enhance market transparency, the CBN has made reporting requirements mandatory for both Authorised Dealer Banks and BDCs:
The CBN directed all authorised dealers to submit weekly reports of their foreign exchange sales to BDCs in a specified Excel format to the CBN Trade and Exchange Department via teddmo@cbn.gov.ng.
BDCs are also to render daily returns on forex purchases and sales (utilisation) through the Financial Institutions Forex Reporting System (FIFX).
It explained that these measures were to help the CBN track forex flows and prevent illicit activities in the currency market.
