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ABUJA – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued fresh regulatory guidelines for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, introducing an electronic foreign exchange purchase portal and stricter operational requirements aimed at improving transparency, compliance and liquidity in the retail segment of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
The new guidance, contained in a circular dated July 15, 2026 and signed by Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Trade & Exchange Department, is addressed to all authorised dealer banks and licensed BDC operators.
The apex bank said the guidelines built on its February 10, 2026 circular that granted BDCs access to purchase foreign exchange from the NFEM through authorised dealer banks of their choice.
Under the new framework, the CBN introduced a centralised electronic platform known as the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT) to facilitate interactions between BDCs and authorised dealer banks, while enabling real-time monitoring of foreign exchange purchases.
According to the CBN, the guidance sets out the eligibility requirements for participating BDCs, purchase request procedures, settlement processes, reporting obligations, treatment of unused foreign exchange balances and compliance responsibilities for both banks and BDC operators.
The bank directed all authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs to comply with the new operational modalities with immediate effect, warning that violations would attract regulatory sanctions. Only BDCs with valid and subsisting CBN licences will be eligible to access foreign exchange under the framework.
Operators whose licences have been suspended or restricted by the regulator will remain excluded until such sanctions are lifted.
The CBN also placed fresh Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and due diligence obligations on authorised dealer banks before executing any foreign exchange transaction with BDCs.
Banks are required to complete customer due diligence in line with CBN anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, obtain and retain key corporate documents including operating licences, Tax Identification Numbers, Corporate Affairs Commission registration documents and beneficial ownership information, while updating KYC records at least once every year or whenever there is a material change in ownership or management.
The apex bank stressed that no foreign exchange should be disbursed to any BDC that fails to satisfy these requirements.
Under the operational framework, licensed BDCs may approach any authorised dealer bank of their choice to purchase foreign exchange, with the CBN prohibiting exclusivity arrangements, referral fees or any conditions that restrict operators from choosing their preferred banking counterparties.
Purchase requests must now be submitted electronically through the FX Purchase Tracker Portal, while authorised dealer banks are required to acknowledge requests within two business hours and communicate approvals or rejections through the portal immediately.
Where requests are rejected, banks must state specific reasons, including incomplete KYC documentation, exhaustion of the weekly purchase limit of $150,000, unresolved compliance issues or internal risk considerations.
The CBN also introduced stricter settlement procedures, directing that all foreign exchange transactions between BDCs and authorised dealer banks, as well as between BDCs and their customers, must be settled exclusively through accounts maintained with licensed financial institutions.
BDCs are required to maintain dedicated foreign exchange settlement accounts registered with the CBN, while third-party transactions have been expressly prohibited.
The regulator warned that foreign exchange purchased through the framework must be credited only to the BDC’s registered settlement account.
The guidance further bars BDCs from retaining unused foreign exchange purchased from the NFEM. According to the CBN, any unutilised foreign exchange must be sold back into the market within 24 hours after the expiry of the utilisation period.
Failure to comply could result in sanctions, including forfeiture of the unused balances and suspension of the operator’s access to the NFEM. BDCs are also required to disclose any unused foreign exchange from the previous week when submitting fresh purchase requests, while authorised dealer banks are expected to factor such disclosures into weekly purchase limit calculations.
The regulator maintained existing reporting obligations, directing licensed BDCs to continue filing electronic returns detailing weekly foreign exchange purchases, sales to end-users by transaction category, unused balances and how they were disposed of, as well as settlement breakdowns for customer transactions.
The CBN warned that violations of the new operational guidelines or the earlier circular would attract sanctions under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and the Foreign Exchange Act.
