Licensed bureau-de-change (BDC) operators across Nigeria say their businesses are approaching collapse after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) suspended dollar allocations from the official foreign exchange window. The move has severely disrupted their ability to operate, pay staff, rent offices and maintain licences.
One BDC operator, Abubakar Ardo, told Nairametrics that “most of us are just managing to stay afloat. Since the CBN stopped selling forex directly to us … the income just isn’t coming in as before.”
The problem is compounded as demand for foreign currency through BDCs has fallen. Many clients now prefer to use international money-transfer operators (IMTOs) or digital platforms, rather than walk into cash-exchange bureaux.
What Changed & Why It Matters
The CBN previously allowed BDCs access to official foreign-exchange windows, but sales to BDCs were suspended in July 2021, amid concerns they were conduits for illicit flows.
Though the BDC sector hoped for reinstatement, the operators say they remain excluded with “little or no intervention to date.”
In a foreign-exchange market that Nigeria aims to liberalize and make more stable, BDCs once played a role in supplying small-ticket FX at retail level. Their exclusion risks leaving a gap at the retail end of the market.
See more related: Nigeria Becomes World Leader in Stablecoin Adoption, SEC Recognizes Digital Assets
Implications for Nigeria’s Crypto & FX Landscape
- Reduced physical FX access: Retail customers who used BDCs for physical cash transactions (including crypto-related cross-border flows) may find fewer regulated outlets, pushing them to informal or less-secure channels.
- Pressure on remittance corridors: Diaspora remitters or crypto-based cross-border payments could face higher costs or lower convenience without widespread BDC participation.
- Risk of exclusion of small players: BDC operators say many face license non-renewal or overhead burdens, which may push them out of business, centralizing FX access further to banks.
- Opportunity for digital crypto-rail growth: With physical cash FX channels declining, the market may see greater shift toward stablecoins, online money-transfer platforms or crypto rails filling the access gap — an area relevant for crypto-inclusion in Africa.
Conclusion
The exclusion of BDCs from official dollar allocations by the CBN has put many licensed operators in survival mode and has wider ramifications for Nigeria’s FX and digital-asset ecosystem. While stability of the naira might be a goal, the structural shift could accelerate the move from physical FX services to digital and crypto-enabled channels.
