Grant BDCs digital autonomy, ABCON urges CBN

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to grant Bureaux De Change (BDCs) digital autonomy to achieve exchange rate convergence.

In a report released yesterday, ABCON President, Dr. Aminu Gwadabe, called on the apex bank to grant a no-objection approval for the BDCs to fully go digital on all their operational correspondences.

He said the move would promote rate convergence, curb volatility in the market and promote economic growth.

He said ABCON had in the past led its members to achieve rate convergence – in 2006, 2009, 2018 to 2020 before the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.

He said granting digital autonomy to the operators will lead to a true market rate discovery,  enhance the achievement of the federal government’s harmonized foreign exchange rate policies and promote effective monitoring of BDCs’ transactions for statutory and regulatory requirements.

He said aside from providing employment for over 40,000 employees within the sector, digital autonomy for operators will usher in transparency, accountability and ease of supervision.

According to ABCON, now is the time for the CBN to democratize and centralize digital operational mechanisms for all BDCs, by granting all operators the autonomy to go digital.

Gwadabe advised the CBN to diversify BDCs scope of operation and business model from cash-based to digital payment.

He said the naijabdcs.com platform inaugurated by ABCON in 2018 was a step by the group to digitize operations of BDCs in the country.

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