The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a real-time a centralised transaction-tracking platform for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators with a view to strengthening its oversight roles, improving transparency, and enhancing compliance across Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) market.
The apex bank, in a circular signed by its Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Aderinola Shonekan, stated that the CBN shall maintain a centralised portal, the FX BDC Purchase Tracker, to which all BDCs shall be registered and submit real-time or same-day data on BDC purchases, enabling systemic compliance and oversight.
According to the circular, the latest framework is designed to support the implementation of the February 2026 policy that reintroduced licensed BDCs into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEX), allowing them to purchase FX directly from Authorised Dealer Banks.
Based on the new directive, all licensed operators must now process their FX purchases through a newly established FX BDC Purchase Tracker, a centralised electronic portal enabling the apex bank to monitor transactions on the exact day they occur.
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The apex bank warned that any default or delay in uploading purchase data by any of the BDC operators would attract severe regulatory sanctions.
That framework allows eligible BDCs with valid and subsisting operating licences to purchase up to $150,000 weekly from dealer banks at prevailing market rates to satisfy legitimate retail demand.
Following the launch of the tracker, regulators will now be able to monitor exactly how those allocations are utilised, ensuring funds are not diverted into parallel or unauthorised channels.
Over the years, the retail FX segment has been plagued by a lack of transparency, speculative hoarding, and arbitrary pricing, which previously made the CBN to suspend FX sales to BDCs.
