The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released new guidelines for the operations of Bureaux de Change (BDCs), with the minimum capital requirement increased from 10 million (US$61,000) to 35 million naira (US$213,000), according to a statement posted on the Bank’s website on Monday.
”The mandatory cautionary deposit is reviewed to N35 million and shall be deposited in a non-interest yielding account in the CBN upon the grant of Approval-in- Principle,” the statement said.
As part of the new requirements, licensed BDCs are to pay an application fee of 100,000 naira (US$600), licensing fee of 1 million naira (US$6,000) and an annual renewal fee of 250,000 naira (US$1,500).
The operators are expected to comply with the requirement on mandatory cautionary deposit by 15 July 2014, while all current applications are expected to comply with these new requirements.
The guidelines also said ownership of multiple BDCs is not permissible and would be punishable if detected.
Furthermore, the compulsory membership of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) is no longer a requirement for the licensing of BDCs.
The apex bank explained that the new guidelines were introduced to put an end to abuse by BDCs operators.
