The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has directed its members to strictly operate within the business hours of 8 am to 6 pm or face disciplinary actions.

This follows an earlier important directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operators that their operational business hours must be between 8 am and 6 pm.

This disclosure is contained in a memo titled, ‘CBN’s Directive On Opening and Closing Hours of Business’ issued by ABCON to its members on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, and seen by Nairametrics.

The order by the CBN may not be unconnected by its efforts to address some of the malpractices at the retail end of the forex market and create a transparent and well-regulated system.

Non-compliance will lead to penalties

While stating that the directive is with immediate effect, ABCON in its memo, warned its members that any deviation from these stipulated operating hours will result in sanctions.

• It also advised all licensed BDCs operating in airports across the country to abide by the regulations of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on business hours.

The memo from ABCON read, ‘’We wish to bring to your attention on an important directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Security Agency (NSA) of the Directive that all licensed Bureaux de Change (BDC) must operate strictly within the operational business hours of 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Nigerian time.

‘’This directive is effective immediately, and any deviation from these stipulated operating hours will result in penalties. It is crucial that all members comply with this new regulation to avoid any punitive measures.

‘’The BDCs operating in all airports are advised to abide by the NCAA regulations on Business hours.

‘’We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and expect full adherence to ensure smooth and compliant operations across all BDCs. Thank you for your cooperation.’’

What you should know

The CBN released revised guidelines for the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), signaling a major shake-up in the country’s FX operations.

• The updates, contained in a circular dated November 29, 2024, consolidate all FX windows, redefine the roles of market participants, and introduce stricter compliance and transparency measures.
• This latest move is part of the apex bank’s efforts to address long-standing inefficiencies in the FX market while creating a transparent, well-regulated system.
• A major focus of the revised guidelines requires that all FX transactions be priced through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), a centralized platform that will also publish daily FX rates for public access.

Also, in the revised CBN guidelines, licensed BDC operators are allowed to purchase foreign exchange directly from authorized dealers, subject to a monthly cap set by the apex bank.

And for the BDCs, these changes mean more access to FX and stricter oversight.

[Nairameterics]