ABCON Ask CBN to Allow Them Crash Dollar Via PoS, Online Operations, Others
- The President of Bureaux de Change operators has asked the CBN to involve them in its plans to strengthen the naira
- Aminu Gwadabe, President of the BDCs, said the current CBN leadership could achieve a stable currency
- He asked the apex bank to allow them to operate agency banking and online transactions to achieve a stable naira
Currency dealers under the aegis of the Association of Bureau de Change of Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to let Bureau de Change operators carry out online dollar transactions and Point of Sale (PoS) agency to boost forex liquidity.
The association asked the apex bank to grant them the regulatory approvals to let BDCs access diaspora remittances via International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) proceeds.
Source: Getty Images
Nigeria to receive $20 million annually from the diaspora if CBN gives the approval
Aminu Gwadabe, ABCON President, revealed this in a statement where he said that the participation of currency dealers in the retail segment of the Forex market would aid in achieving a stable, solid, and virile exchange rate.
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He said that the association recommended that the CBN approve its long-standing request that BDCs be made agents via which about $20 million in yearly diaspora inflows could enter the economy, stating that such approvals could boost dollar liquidity and strengthen the naira.
He said:
“We at ABCON advise that BDCs should be allowed to access dollars or diaspora remittances through the autonomous forex windows like allowing operators to receive IMTOs proceeds, carrying out online dollar operations and Point of Sale (PoS) Agency, among others.’’
Diaspora remittances as a panacea to Nigeria's Forex crisis
The ABCON Chairman said diaspora remittances are low-hanging fruits for CBN, and exploiting the full potential will mean creating multiple channels of inflows to make it easier for Nigerians abroad to send funds home, a Nairametrics report said.
Concerning the challenges facing Nigeria’s Forex market and the naira’s depreciation, Gwadabe stated it requires the BDCs to provide solutions to the current volatility in the exchange rate market.
The BDC dealers’ boss said the continuous devaluation of the naira in both the official and black market is not to the benefit of the BDCs and the local economy, saying that steps should be taken to reverse the fall and strengthen the naira for maximum impact on the economy.
The naira experiences its worst week in history
The naira experienced its worst week, dropping to N1,100 on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, and further plunged to N1,175 per dollar on Thursday, October 19, 2023, in the black market.
The same Tuesday, the official market recorded its worst depreciation of N848 per dollar before strengthening to N790.80 on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
On Thursday, October 19, the naira appreciated slightly, exchanging for N782 per dollar. It later depreciated to N808 per dollar on Friday, October 20, 2023.
CBN to flush out currency speculators
Gwadabe revealed that the series of measures by the CBN to plug the exchange rate gaps indicate genuine intentions to stabilize the exchange rate market.
However, he said, involving the BDCs in the solution plan would bring the needed results.
According to Gwadabe, the BDC operators are worried about the development of the foreign exchange market.
Punch reports that Gwadabe asked the CBN to flush out unlicensed Forex dealers at the centre of speculative activities and attract a negative image to the operators.
After hitting over N800 per dollar in the official market, Naira recovers to N790.68/dollar
Legit.ng reported that the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar rebounded to N790.60 at the end of trading on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
Data from the FMDQ, which quotes the official exchange rate, shows that the naira closed trading at N790.8 per dollar in contrast to the N848 per dollar recorded on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
The development suggests that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may not be in a hurry to plug the gap between the official and black market rates, contrary to its promise of intervening in the Forex market.
Source: Legit.ng
