LAGOS/Nigeria: In a move for Nigeria’s financial landscape, the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called upon the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to democratize and centralize its members’ operations by providing them with the autonomy to embrace digital technology.
Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President of ABCON, shared this significant development with journalists in Lagos on Sunday. Gwadabe emphasized the urgency of this appeal in light of the recent CBN reforms aimed at encouraging Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to become tech-savvy.
“In view of the above, we call on the CBN to diversify our scope of operation and business model from cash-based to less cash and digital platforms,” Gwadabe asserted.
ABCON, which initiated its vision for BDCs’ digitization through the naijabdcs.com exchange rate platform in 2018, has long prepared its members to embrace technology. Gwadabe highlighted the substantial investments made by ABCON in IT research, development, design, and implementation, transforming the business process from manual to digital.
“Our members now have transaction monitoring systems equipped with IT office equipment and internet access at their locations. They record transactions on AWS I-Cloud in real time, extracting daily reports for timely submission and maintain an online, real-time interface with the CBN,” Gwadabe elaborated.
Gwadabe also pointed out that in 2019, BDCs were integrated into the Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) for BVN verification and validation during transactions. Furthermore, ABCON, in collaboration with the Nigerian Fraud Intelligence Unit (NFIU), ensured BDCs’ registration on the GoAML and Nil-returns platforms, facilitating compliance with their AML/CFT obligations.
“We have also ensured that each member executes compliance undertakings and appoints a Compliance Officer,” Gwadabe added.
As a custodian of regulation and an auto-regulatory organization, ABCON believes that BDCs are essential for effectively transmitting CBN foreign exchange policies. Gwadabe emphasized past achievements in rate convergence in 2006, 2009, and 2018-2020 before the COVID-19 outbreak.
ABCON’s chief highlighted the verifiable accomplishments and called on the apex bank to grant no-objection approval for BDCs to fully embrace digital payments. The benefits of this autonomy include market rate discovery, alignment with federal foreign exchange policies, improved transaction monitoring, centralized market operation, and additional employment opportunities in the sector, benefitting over 40,000 direct and indirect employees.
This move toward autonomy is expected to usher in transparency, accountability, and enhanced supervision in the BDC subsector of the FX market, marking a significant stride towards modernization and efficiency in Nigeria’s financial industry.
