Bureau De Change operators in the country have said they are not ready to commence the implementation of the Bank verification Number (BVN) policy.
This was made known by the Acting President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed that the CBN had suspended the directive earlier because BDC operators were not educated on the use of the Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) platform that the BVN will be entered into was having issues.
The Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) had issued a directive to all banks and Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in the country to demand for customers’ Bank Verification Number (BVN) for all forex transactions from November 1, 2015, a timeline the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has described as not been feasible.
The CBN in a circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Kevin Amugo had said the directive was in continuation of efforts to stabilise the forex market, stem the rampant cases of forex leakages and illicit money transfers from Nigeria.
The apex bank said it would also discontinue the sale of forex to the BDCs that had not availed it the BVNs of all its directors.
The Acting President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe however noted that BDCs in the country are not yet ready for the implementation of the policy. According to him, the CBN had suspended the directive earlier because BDC operators were not educated on the use of the Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) platform that the BVN will be entered into was having issues.
He noted that most of the BDCs have complied with the directive that thier members submit the BVN numbers of their directors to the CBN saying, “we told all our members to submit the BVN of their directors although not all of them have complied but we hope they will before the deadline.”