The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has authorized the daily allocation of $10,000 to 1,588 eligible Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at the exchange rate of ₦1,101 per dollar.
W.J Kanya, the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department at the CBN, communicated this decision in a letter to the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON) on Monday in Abuja.
As per the directive outlined in the letter, BDC operators are required to sell the allocated dollars to eligible end users with a maximum markup of 1.5% above the purchase price. The letter also instructed all eligible BDCs to deposit the Naira equivalent at the CBN Naira deposit account starting from Monday.
The directive emphasized the importance of BDCs adhering to the regulations and conditions outlined in previous circulars. This guidance comes after Aminu Gwadabe, President of ABCON, urged the CBN to lower the applicable exchange rate, which was set at ₦1,251 to the dollar for BDCs.
Gwadabe expressed concerns that the current exchange rate was burdensome for BDCs, especially considering the lower parallel market rate of ₦1,235 to the dollar compared to the official rate. He highlighted the financial challenges BDCs were facing due to these discrepancies in exchange rates.
