TheCable

The Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has given its members permission to publicly post exchange rates online.

Speaking to TheCable on Tuesday, Aminu Gwadabe, ABCON’s president, said the move is expected to enhance price recovery, encourage competitiveness, transparency, and achieve equilibrium. 

With the new approval, he said the Bureau de Change (BDC) operators would be able to post FX rates on a dedicated platform from the comfort of their offices.

“The BDC operators will post the rates at their own comfort. People can not have the same prices. The purpose is not to give the general pricing. Once competition starts there, the platform will help achieve equilibrium.”

Gwadabe, however, clarified that ABCON “had the approval before” but due to the posting of rates by AbokiFX, “the CBN was not happy about it”, adding that the association was “never banned”.

Meanwhile, the president, in a briefing on January 22, 2024, said the association has been in talks with relevant agencies to allow them import dollars to bolster liquidity in the sector. 

“We’ve also been discussing on collaboration on how BDCs can be allowed to import cash dollar into the economy so that we will have the liquidity into our subsector,” he said.

“On this request, the chairman, EFCC, has promised that he will pass our requests to the president and to the relevant regulatory authorities. As a short-term measure, we advise members to as qucikly as possible be cautioned against speculation and hoarding.  

“We hope and are excited to inform you that with the reception we have received from the chairman, EFCC, as soon as possible, there is going to be major thing that will shake this market in terms of stemming the volatility that were are witnessing.” 

‘WE’RE NOT CAUSE OF FX VOLATILITY’

Gwadabe said there are “people behind foreign exchange volatility”.

“However, in most situations, our members are being seen as the cause of this volatility in the market,” the ABCON president said.

“We reiterate to inform you that we are always proactive to ensure that the stigmatisation happening in our own sub-sector has been reduced to the minimum level or completely removed.”

Gwadabe said there are many players in the FX sector and there are many things causing volatility in the sector, adding that BDC operators should not be blamed for the issues.