The Central Bank of Nigeria has restarted dollar sales to exchange bureaus, reversing it decision to end sales in 2021 to combat graft and round-tripping.
The bank said in a statement on Tuesday that it will sell $20,000 to each bureau de change (BDCs) at a rate of 1,301 naira per dollar.
The rate represents the lower band rate of spot trading at the official NAFEM for Monday.
The exchange bureaus are not to sell at a price above 1 percent of the purchase amount.
The bank said the decision followed its observation of “price distortions at the retail end of the market, which is feeding into the parallel market and further widening the exchange rate premium.”
The bank banned street trading and said BDCs are to keep records of the beneficiaries of amount sold to them.
They are not sell more than $4,000 per individual for personal transport allowance (PTA) and $5,000 business transport allowance (BTA).
New regulations
The decision to restart dollar sales after three years are part of broader reforms to Nigeria’s currency market, which has suffered chronic dollar shortages.
The CBN’s in an earlier guideline last week stipulated that bureau de change operators must now possess a minimum capital of N2 billion to operate nationally, a substantial increase from the previous requirement of N35 million. Similarly, exchange bureaus operating regionally will be mandated to have a minimum capital of N500 million.
Under the updated regulations, individuals will be restricted from withdrawing more than $500 in hard currency in cash at a time. Larger amounts will need to be settled through banking channels.
The naira strengthened to 1,550 per dollar on the parallel market on Monday, mirroring levels seen on the official market. This marks a notable change from the 1,900 naira per dollar rate observed just a week earlier.
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