The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary authorisation to buy as much as $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
This was contained in a circular on Thursday signed by T.G. Allu, on behalf of the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN.
The arrangement, which took effect from December 19, 2024, will remain valid till January 30, 2025, to meet seasonal retail demand for forex during the holiday period.
Under the directive, BDCs may purchase FX from a single Authorised Dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.
The transactions will occur at the prevailing NFEM rate, and BDCs are required to adhere to a maximum 1% spread when pricing FX for retail end-users.
All transactions conducted under this scheme must be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
“In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a 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.
“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized 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% is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users,” the circular read in part.
The CBN assured the general public that PTA (Personal Travel Allowance) and BTA (Business Travel Allowance) remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.
The transactions are to be conducted at “market-determined exchange rates” within the NFEM framework.