Retail foreign exchange merchants, often known as Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, have expressed optimism that extra remaining working licences can be issued quickly by the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN), following the discharge of an preliminary record of 82 authorised operators below its revised regulatory framework.
The approval, which was introduced on December 8, 2025, marks a key milestone within the CBN’s ongoing effort to reform and sanitize Nigeria’s retail overseas change market.
Nonetheless, many operators say the determine is just a fraction of the whole variety of functions submitted and capital raised to date, with expectations that extra approvals will observe within the coming weeks.
In Could 2024, the CBN launched new capital necessities for BDC operators: N2 billion for a Tier-1 licence, and N500 million for a Tier-2 licence, in comparison with the earlier threshold of N35 million below the previous normal licensing regime.
Tier-1 BDCs are permitted to function nationally, whereas Tier-2 operators are restricted to actions inside a single state.
The brand new construction was launched below the CBN’s revised Regulatory and Supervisory Tips for BDC Operations, following consultations with stakeholders and in accordance with Part 56 of the Banks and Different Monetary Establishments Act (BOFIA) 2020.
Whereas the rules led to a pointy discount within the variety of eligible operators, stakeholders say the licensing course of continues to be ongoing, and extra operators are anticipated to obtain remaining approval quickly.
What they’re saying
Talking solely to Nairametrics, Aminu Gwadebe, President of the Affiliation of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), clarified that the 82 authorised operators are solely the primary set of candidates who had accomplished the method on the time the round was issued.
- “Effectively, it’s an ongoing train. From the start, there was lots of concern. Folks had been pondering of the increment from that N35 million to N500 million, after which they’ve been going for consultations,” he stated.
- “Some received the data early, some haven’t, so individuals needed to take the bull by the horns and begin paying.
So, these are the primary set of people that had paid on the time the round got here out.
Many others have paid, and the window continues to be open. Nonetheless, I believe it’s nonetheless very small.”
He added that the variety of operators which have met the necessities is already higher than the 82 printed by the CBN, with expectations of additional approvals.
- “Lots of people have paid, I believe much more than the 82 now. It’s a query of when they’re going to come on board, and the CBN has assured us of an accelerated course of to make sure that many individuals are on board,” Gwadebe added.
The brand new regulatory framework has considerably reshaped the BDC sector. Based on Gwadebe, hundreds of operators had been already delisted for failing to satisfy compliance necessities even earlier than the recapitalisation coverage took impact.
- “They used strict compliance necessities then, and folks weren’t complying with them. That’s how they weeded out about 4,600 and left about 1,600 as of 2024. So now they used capitalization additionally to weed down over 95%. With the present determine we’ve, it means solely lower than 5% met the requirement.”
CBN Emphasises Compliance
