Bureau De Change operators have praised the Central Bank of Nigeria for waiving the 2025 licence fees for the operators.

They spoke under the aegis of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria.  

President, of the association, Dr Aminu Gwadabe, gave the commendation on Wednesday during an interview in Lagos.

 Mr Gwadabe thanked the management of the apex bank for the waiver of the annual licence renewal which he described as an amnesty extended to his members.

According to him, the move underscores the CBN’s commitment to implementing the new financial capitalisation requirements for BDCs.

 They include a capital requirement of N500 million for Tier 2 and N2 billion for Tier 1 operators.

 Mr Gwadabe urged his members to merge and meet the new capital requirements before the extended deadline of June 2025.

 He said, “We are willing to continue to collaborate, cooperate and comply with extant rules and regulations.’’

 He also appreciated the CBN’s launch of the Nigeria Foreign Exchange (FX) Code, designed to promote ethical conduct among dealers in the market.

 Mr Gwadabe stated, “It will address issues such as opaqueness in transactions, rates war among participants, and lateness in submitting returns on spot transactions.”

 However, he expressed concerns that banks had not been complying with the CBN’s directive to sell dollars to BDC operators since September 2024.

 He noted that this was in spite of the positive impact of the announcement on the market.

 The apex bank approved the waiver of the 2025 annual licence renewal fee for existing BDC operators on Tuesday in Abuja.

 The waiver applied to existing operators and took immediate effect.

 The directive was communicated in a circular directing implementation of the Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria in 2024.

 Mr Gwadabe said ABCON, as an umbrella body of the licensed Bureau De Change operators, and a self regulatory body, plays a critical role in the retail Fx sector of the market.

 According to him, the role makes the association a bride between the regulators and the security agencies.

 He said the association was committed to its role of ensuring its members always play their third role in the market by providing an effective and potent role in demand utilisation transactions.

 He added that the mechanism was important for the apex bank’s smooth running of the FX market.

 He added, “We are willing to continue to collaborate, cooperate and comply with extant rules and regulation.’’

(NAN)