No More N1,600: CBN Crashes Dollar, Approves New Exchange Rate For BDCs
The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced plans to sell $20,000 in foreign exchange to eligible Bureau De Change operators nationwide.
The apex bank disclosed this in a statement titled “Sales of foreign exchange to BDCs to meet retail market demand for eligible invisible transactions“, signed by its acting director of trade and exchange department, Dr W. J Kanya.
According to a new circular released on Wednesday, September 25, the apex bank said the qualified BDC operators would get the chance to buy at the rate of N1,590/$.
The rate is N77.42 cheaper than the official exchange rate, which closed at N1667.42 on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
Also, a BDC trader said that on Thursday, September 26, the naira in the parallel market sold at N1,697 against the dollar.
CBN gives instructions to BDCs
In the circular, the CBN said the sale of the dollar will help operators meet retail market demand for eligible invisible transactions.
However, the apex bank gave firm instructions that the beneficiary BDCs must not sell the allocated dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding N15.59 profit on each dollar they sell to their customers.
The circular reads:
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wishes to inform Bureau De Change (BDC) operators and the general public of its decision to provide additional liquidity to this segment of the foreign exchange market.
“To this effect, the CBN has approved the sale of US$20,000 to each eligible BDC at a rate of N1,590 per dollar, aimed at meeting the demand for invisible transactions.
“All BDCs are permitted to sell to eligible end-users with a margin not exceeding one percent (1%) above the purchase rate from the CBN.
“Eligible BDCs interested in this transaction are required to make the Naira payment to the CBN Deposit Account Numbers provided to them. Additionally, payment confirmation and the necessary documentation for disbursement must be submitted to the relevant CBN branches in Abuja, Awka, and Kano.”
