CBN waives N250,000 yearly licence fee for BDCs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has waived N250,000 annual licence renewal fee for each Bureau De Change (BDC) operator for the 2025 financial year.

In a statement, CBN Acting Director, Financial Policy & Regulation Department, Johnson Ojah, said the waiver of non-refundable annual licence renewal fee for existing BDCs aligns with the Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria, 2024.

He said the move also followed the ongoing transition to the new BDC regulatory structure, adding that the waiver of 2025 licence renewal fee, is effective immediately.

“Any bureau de change that has paid for 2025 licence renewal is hereby advised to apply to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Central Bank of Nigeria for refund to its account from which the payment emanated,” he said.

According to him, the CBN remains committed to fostering stability, transparency, and efficiency in the foreign exchange market while ensuring that operators align with the revised regulatory framework.

The apex bank had last November extended the recapitalisation deadline for BDC operators from December 3, 2024 to June 3, 2025.

It decided to extend the deadline by six months following low level of compliance in raising new capital by BDC operators.

The new CBN guidelines for the sector also requires all Tier-1 BDCs to raise N2 billion minimum capital to remain in business, while Tier-2 BDCs are to raise N500 million minimum capital. The Tier-1 BDCs will operate nationally, while the Tier-2 BDCs can only operate in one state within the Federation.

The capital raising exercise was part of reforms to re-position the BDC sub-sector to play its envisioned role in the foreign exchange market in Nigeria.

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