- The Central Bank of Nigeria has waived the 2025 licence renewal fee for Bureau De Change operators
- The CBN said the waiver aims to ease the operators’ financial obligations
- BDCs who have already paid their fees were advised to apply for a reimbursement
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the waiver of the 2025 non-refundable annual licence renewal fee for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.
The CBN stated this in a circular dated January 24, 2025, signed by the acting Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, John S. Onojah, and addressed to BDC operators and stakeholders in the financial services industry.
It said the waiver is to ease the BDCs’ financial obligations and highlights its commitment to fostering stability, transparency, and efficiency in the foreign exchange market.
The waiver is part of the CBN’s broader strategy to support the ongoing transition to the new BDC regulatory structure, following the release of the ‘Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria, 2024.’
The apex bank also stated that BDC operators who have already paid the 2025 license renewal fee should apply to the Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department for reimbursement.
The circular read, “This is to inform all existing Bureau De Change that further to the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria, 2024, and the ongoing transition to the new BDC regulatory structure, the Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the waiver of 2025 licence renewal fee, effective immediately.
“Any Bureau De Change that has paid for 2025 licence renewal is hereby advised to apply to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Central Bank of Nigeria for refund to its account from which the payment emanated.”
CBN’s efforts to enhance BDC’s forex operations
The CBN has been committed to ensuring the participation and enhancing the operations of BDCs in the forex market.
The apex bank granted licenced BDCs access to purchase forex directly from authorised dealers to meet customers’ needs and to ensure forex stability and reduce market volatility.
The revised guideline announced the inclusion of licenced BDCs in the official forex market to streamline Nigeria’s forex market and enable the naira to reflect its true value.
The guideline also stipulated total monthly transactions for BDCs subject to an aggregate cap as determined by the CBN.
It also noted that forex pricing will now be centralised through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), which was introduced on December 13.
During the yuletide season, the CBN also granted BDCs temporary access to up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (forex) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
It noted that the permission will be in effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025, and aims to meet the seasonal retail demand for forex during the holiday and yuletide period.
CBN extends BDCs’ recapitalisation deadline by 6 months over low compliance level
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extended the deadline for the recapitalisation of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators by six months due to a low level of compliance.
The deadline to meet new capital requirements was extended from December 3, 2024, to June 3, 2025.
