The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has assured that the Nigerian economy will begin to see and capture the diaspora remittances that are currently diverted to different jurisdictions when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) starts full implementation of the integration of BDCs into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
This was made known by the ABCON President, Aminu Gwadebe, during a chat with Nairametrics on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, where he expressed gratitude to the management of the apex bank for the new policy.
Gwadebe said the BDC operators are seeking the democratization and decentralization of the operational mechanisms by allowing them as agents of International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), access autonomous windows of banks and e-money products.
Further clarifications needed
He said that the CBN is doing a lot of training and sensitization for house cleaning, adding that ABCON as a custodian of regulation advises its members to comply with the extent of rules and regulations.
The ABCON boss noted that further clarifications on BDCs’ roles in the I&E window will help eliminate or reduce significantly the volatility and ensure stability.
What the ABCON President is saying
Gwadebe in his statement said, ‘’We sincerely appreciate the management of CBN for setting the pace with the integration of our members as a third leg of the I&E window.
- ‘’We believe when fully implemented, the apex bank and the economy will begin to see and capture the inflows that are currently undertaken as over-the-counter transactions in different jurisdictions with different regulations.
- ‘’We seek for democratization and decentralization of the operational mechanisms by allowing the BDCs as agencies of IMTSOS, access autonomous windows of banks and E-money products.
- ‘’The CBN is doing a lot of training and sensitization for house cleaning with the end of 31st August deadline. ABCON as a custodian of regulation advises our members to comply with the extents rules and regulations guiding their operations.
- ‘’We have however noticed volatility and spikes as a result of uncertainties in the market. Further clarifications on BDCs roles in the I&E window will help to eliminate or reduce significantly the volatility and usher in stability.’’
What you should know
The CBN had on August 17, in a major policy shift, bowed to pressure from BDC operators as they unveiled a series of operational changes for the Bureau De Change segment in a bid to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
Under the new framework which reintroduced the BDCs in the market, the spread on buying and selling by BDC operators is set to fall within a permissible range of -2.5% to +2.5% of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market window’s weighted average rate from the previous day.
Another significant alteration is the mandatory submission of periodic financial reports by BDC operators.
Looking forward to how this pans out.