A draft of the “Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations (BDCs) in Nigeria-” was made public on February 23, 2024, by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) via circular; FP R/DIR/PUB/002/006 pursuant to its power under section 56 of the Banks & other Financial Institutions Act, 2020. The Federal Government of Nigeria is working to restructure the country’s foreign exchange market and organize and control BDC operations in Nigeria through the implementation of these guidelines. This draft seeks to amend the previous guidelines for BDCs in Nigeria-2015 guidelines.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE DRAFT GUIDELINES

1. Non-eligible promoters: The guidelines specify groups of individuals who may directly or indirectly participate in BDC ownership. Fifteen (15) kinds of people were listed in the criteria as being ineligible to participate in BDC operations. Some of these people and organizations that are prohibited are:

a) Commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks

b) Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), including holding companies and payment service providers

c) serving staff of financial services regulatory and supervisory agencies

d) serving staffs of regulated financial service providers

e) Government at all levels

e) A shareholder in another BDC.

f) Charitable Organisations.

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Written by Deborah Dada for The Trusted Advisors

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