Bureau de Change operators in Nigeria have been granted temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This will take effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.
The CBN announced this in a circular published by the CBN on Thursday and signed by T.G. Allu on behalf of the CBN’s acting Director, Trade and Exchange Department.
Allu noted that this move is designed to meet seasonal retail demand for forex during the holiday period.
“To meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from authorised dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD 25,000.00 (Twenty-five thousand dollars only). This window will be open between December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.
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“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one authorised dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate. All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1 per cent is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users,” the circular read in part.
Per the CBN’s directives, BDC operators may purchase forex from a single authorised dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.
BDC operators must also adhere to a maximum 1 per cent spread when pricing forex for retail end-users.
Every transaction conducted under this scheme is expected to be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
Nigeria’s apex bank has also assured the populace Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.
This announcement came a month after the CBN permitted BDC operators to purchase foreign exchange directly from authorised dealers.
