The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) team has held an emergency meeting with the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), where it was agreed among other options to enhance liquidity in the retail end market that banks should start autonomous dollar sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs).
The meeting held on Monday at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja was attended by EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukayide and ABCON National Executive Council (NEC) led by its President, Dr. Aminu Gwadabe.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting by ABCON NEC, it was agreed that the market will leverage on BDCs, by allowing the operators to participate in autonomous dollar sales by banks.
The BDCs will also have the opportunity to harness dollar inflows from the diaspora. Both teams also agreed to create an ABCON/EFCC Market Intelligence Team across the country to ensure transparency and compliance in the BDCs operations.
ABCON is also expected to sensitize members on the implications of receiving monies from government agencies for transactions, including the red flags associated with such transactions. There will also be more Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation by banks, with BDCs expected to instruct their banks to flag all unusual transactions. The EFCC also authorized ABCON to register all retail end forex market players for accountability.
They also sought the signing of an executive order to democratize the operations of non-export domiciliary accounts for BDCs accessibility. Both institutions also called for a joint national dialogue with EFCC, CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission, banks, International Money Transfer Operators, and ABCON for a new and effective direction for the forex market.
In the communique was also a directive for approval for ABCON to establish a common website for BDCs rate and trading platforms. The platform is to also serve as a challenger to other platforms in the economy and ensure uniform rate reporting.
ABCON reiterated CBN-licenced BDC’s readiness for regulatory reforms that would reposition the operators for enhanced efficiency, transparency, and compliance with set regulations in the interest of the financial system and economy.
Gwadabe said that despite the challenges facing the BDC segment of the financial markets, its role of providing across-the-counter, retail foreign exchange services to end-users is sacrosanct. He said ABCON and CBN-licenced BDCs will continue to discourage forex end-users from patronizing the unofficial or black market segment of the forex market to achieve exchange rate stability and convergence
