….Initiates Moves On Automation Of BDCs
The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has described the ongoing clampdown on and arrest of illegal foreign exchange (FX) dealers across the country as a welcome development capable of improving the efficiency of the FX operations in the parallel and official markets.
The National President of the Association, Aminu Gwadabe, who expressed the position of all licensed Bureau De Change operators on the raids of black markets’ areas over the past week during a conference call on Wednesday, described the situation in the FX market, in terms of its volatility, as worrisome hence the moves by the monetary authorities and security agencies to address the problem.
Noting that many factors are responsible for the current volatility in the FX markets, particularly the FX supply shortfall amid growing demand, the market leader explained that the association had been in series of discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders, with a view to tackling all forms of abuses in the markets in order to stabilize the exchange rates of the Naira against other foreign currencies.
Gwadabe, who commended the management of the CBN for engaging the ABCON in discussions on how to frontally tackle the FX market volatility crisis, said the BDC operators as licensed players in the market were already to comply with regulatory guidelines in the FX market and totally opposed to illegal dealers’ current abuses.
He said: “For us, we are licensed and regulated and as a licensed Bureau De Change entity there are criteria that must guide your operations. For instance, you must have an office, you must render returns, and you must comply with necessary regulations.
“What is happening now is not targeted at licensed Bureau De Change operators but the operators of FX street trading. For us, we are against any street trading and we support any actions that will remove street trading. It affects me also, I have an office but my clients cannot come to my office because of the menace of street traders”, the ABCON chief added.
He expressed the association’s support for any sanitization that can remove street trading, pointing out there is no place on earth that you can go and see rampant street trading of FX as the Nigerian current situation showed.
According to him, the group is embarking on some reforms aimed at sanitizing the FX market and requires the support of the CBN to achieve the objectives of the initiative.
Gwadabe further clarified: “We are revolutionising the entire retail exchange market and we support any action that will discourage the menace. So many things affect us as licensed Bureau De Change operators and we welcome the idea of flushing out illegal dealers from the market.
“However, there must be continuous engagement. We need to continue to engage on how we can put in place the norms and culture of what is happening as even the CBN was created because of reforms. So, we should continue to engage and partner on how we can reform the entire subsector.
On our own part as Association of Bureau De Change, we have put a lot of recommendations on how we can leverage our operations on technology, innovation, automation, which are now a moving wave. We as the Association of Bureau De Change operators encourage automation. So, let us at the entire retail end of the subsector embrace technology and innovation in order to leave a good legacy”, he added.
The ABCON chief hinted that in three weeks, the association will automate the system as they already have the automation system in place but only waiting for the CBN to give their request approval for “No Objection”.
Gwadabe maintained that the association can entirely automate the operations of any retail trader within three weeks as it had already built the automation platform for the operators
While appealing to the monetary authorities to give the association’s request approval for “No Objection”, the FX top dealer urged all ABCON members to be cautious, careful and operate within the ambit of the regulations, especially by not engaging in FX street trading.
