Nigeria is taking one of its boldest steps yet to tighten oversight of its foreign exchange market, introducing a centralised digital system that will allow regulators to track every official dollar purchase made by licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operators from banks in near real time.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this week unveiled detailed operational guidelines for a new electronic platform known as the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), requiring all licensed BDCs to process their foreign exchange purchase requests through the portal and submit transaction data in real time or on the same day.
Banks authorised to sell foreign currency must also use the platform when dealing with BDCs.
While the guidance appears administrative on the surface, it represents a significant shift in how Africa’s largest economy monitors the retail foreign exchange market.
For years, one of the biggest criticisms of Nigeria’s FX regime has been the limited visibility regulators had over how dollars flowed after leaving the official market.
