Association of Bureau De Change Operators has approved ‘Operation No Street Trading’ to stop the hawking of dollars by Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.
ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the policy shift was part of the resolutions made by BDC directors at the meeting of the operators in Lagos.
“All operators to collaborate in bringing down the forex rates in the market; street trading by BDC should be discouraged/banned and ABCON will commence operation ‘no street trading’.
“BDCs should improve return rendition to regulatory authorities; margin review to meet operational requirements; widening the scope of transactions; digitalisation of BDC operations.
“ABCON to punish errand members; ABCON compliance officer and staff to commence nationwide supervision of BDC operations,” he said.
He added BDCs directors also resolved that all operators should co-operate to bring down the forex rates in the market.
Gwadabe advised foreign exchange users and the general public to patronize only Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licenced bureaux de change (BDCs) to get dollars the approved rate.
The ABCON has assured the public of its commitment to orderly conduct retail forex transactions as defined and regulated by the CBN for licensed Bureaux De Change (BDCs).
Gwadabe said forex speculators are behind the naira crisis adding that CBN-licenced BDCs are always advised to trade within set margin limits.
He advised members of the public to always patronise CBN license BDCs which are regulatory-complaint and operate within international best practices.
He said parallel market activities have for years become major drivers of the exchange rates and control over such transactions have become burdensome.
He said forex speculators are capitalising on the state of the foreign exchange market and the naira to sell dollars above CBN approved approved margin.
ABCON Executive Council said ABCON has continued to ensure that BDCs file their reports as and at when due. The BDCs also do customers Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence reports.
It said that while BDCs are licensed to offer retail, across the counter, foreign exchange transactions, they however play critical roles in the economy and have contributed to the economic development of the country like ensuring order and confidence in the forex market, providing data for monetary policy, channels for CBN Intervention in Retail forex market and creation of over 15,000 jobs among others.
