The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has affirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) June 3 recapitalisation deadline for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators remains unchanged.
ABCON President, Dr. Aminu Gwadabe, made this known during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, following a stakeholders’ meeting with the CBN.
NAN reports that in May 2024, the CBN released new operational guidelines for BDCs, effective June 3, 2024. The guidelines required all existing BDC operators to reapply for new licences under revised capital requirements.
Under the new structure, Tier 1 BDCs must maintain a minimum capital base of N2 billion, while Tier 2 BDCs are required to have N500 million. Additionally, non-refundable licence fees were set at N5 million for Tier 1 and N2 million for Tier 2.
Operators were initially given six months to meet the required capital levels based on their chosen licence category. The CBN later extended the recapitalisation deadline by another six months to allow more time for compliance while ongoing consultations with stakeholders continued.
Despite the extension, ABCON recently disclosed that only about 10 per cent of its members had met the capital requirements as of Monday. The association subsequently held a final stakeholder meeting with the apex bank in Lagos.
Commenting on the outcome, Dr. Gwadabe expressed appreciation to the CBN for its efforts but stressed that the recapitalisation deadline of June 3 remains in effect.
“First, we want to thank the management of the Central bank for their enhanced consultations with stakeholders.
“The CBN have acknowledged that our sub sector is a critical retail end sub sector and that BDCs are important and potent tool of CBN’s policy transmission mechanisms.
“Discussions are ongoing and with some give and take.
“The deadline for the existing BDCs for recapitalisation by June 3rd, 2025 remains sacrosanct. Also, the minimum capital requirements of N2billion for tier 1 and N500million for tier 2 remain sacrosanct,” he said.
The ABCON President further stated that the window for new licences remains open to prospective investors, with an understanding in place to fast-track the licensing process.
“Other matters are yet to be wrapped up with higher hopes of reaching a win win situation,” he said.
