The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a digital platform to monitor the foreign exchange transactions carried out by bureaux de change, in a move aimed at tightening oversight of the retail currency market. The measure gives the central bank a much closer view of how retail dollars are bought and sold across the country.
The requirement is set out in a circular issued to operators. Under it, all licensed bureaux de change must register on the platform, which is known as the FX BDC Purchase Tracker, and report their foreign exchange purchases through it. The system is designed to bring the activities of these operators into a single, centrally supervised channel.
A key feature of the platform is the timing of the reporting. Bureaux de change are expected to submit the details of their transactions either in real time or on the same day the transactions take place. This allows the central bank to follow the flow of foreign currency as it happens, rather than relying only on periodic returns after the fact.
The rules also address what happens to currency that is bought but not used. Operators are required to sell back any unused foreign exchange into the market within twenty-four hours after the permitted usage period expires. The intention is to ensure that funds do not sit idle or get diverted, but instead return quickly to the market.
According to the central bank, the framework is designed to improve transparency and strengthen compliance among market operators, while also boosting liquidity in the retail foreign exchange market. By recording each transaction, the authorities hope to make the market easier to supervise and harder to abuse.
The measure is also aimed at curbing practices that have long troubled the currency market, including speculation, hoarding and round-tripping, where funds obtained for one purpose are recycled for profit. Tighter monitoring is intended to make such practices more difficult to carry out without detection.
The step forms part of a wider effort by the authorities to bring more order and stability to Nigeria's currency market. By closing gaps in oversight of the bureaux de change, the central bank is seeking to support confidence in the naira and to ensure that the retail segment of the market operates within clearer rules.