The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the timeframe for eligible bureau de change (BDC) operators to access the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) for foreign exchange (FX).
On December 20 2024 CBN granted BDC operators temporary access to NAFEM to purchase $25,000 weekly from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.
CBN said BDCs will purchase FX from authorised dealers, which are banks licenced by the apex bank to deal in foreign exchange, to meet retail market demand.
However, in a circular on Monday by W.J. Kanya, acting director, trade and exchange department, CBN said the deadline has been extended to May 30.
“We refer to our circular TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/030 dated December 18, 2024, which granted temporary access to existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD25,000.00,” the statement reads.
“The expiry date of January 31 2025 which was granted in the above mentioned circular has been extended to May 30, 2025.
“All other terms and conditions in the above mentioned circular remain unchanged.
“The CBN remains committed to fully functional foreign exchange market and will continue to provide liquidity when necessary to manage price volatility.”
Other sources of FX for BDC operators, according to a statement by the CBN on February 24, 2024, are tourists, returnees from the diaspora, and expatriates with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment or their domiciliary accounts.
Also mentioned are residents with foreign exchange inflows from work, travel, investment or their domiciliary accounts, International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), embassies and hotels that are authorised buyers of FX.