Bureau De Change (BDC) operators under the aegis of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) say that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) June 3 recapitalisation deadline for its members remains sacrosanct.

According to NAN, this was made known by the ABCON President, Aminu Gwadebe, during an interview following a stakeholders’ meeting with CBN in Lagos.

This is coming barely after reports of the ABCON President urging the apex bank to further extend the deadline and reassess licensing requirements to prevent widespread job losses and economic disruptions.

The CBN had increased the minimum share capital of BDCs to N2 billion for Tier 1 license and N500 million for Tier 2 license, as against the previous threshold of N35 million for a general license.

ABCON had raised concerns over the recapitalization, as most of its members have been unable to meet the deadline.

Speaking on the outcome of the final stakeholders’ engagement with the CBN, Gwadebe thanked the apex bank for the move, adding that the BDCs’ recapitalisation deadline was sacrosanct.

He said, “First, we want to thank the management of the Central bank for their enhanced consultations with stakeholders.

“The CBN have acknowledged that our sub-sector is a critical retail end sub-sector and that BDCs are an important and potent tool of CBN’s policy transmission mechanisms.

“Discussions are ongoing, and with some give and take.

“The deadline for the existing BDCs for recapitalisation by June 3rd, 2025, remains sacrosanct. Also, the minimum capital requirements of N2billion for tier 1 and N500million for tier 2 remain sacrosanct.’’

The ABCON President added that the window for new licences was open for prospective investors with an agreement to accelerate the licencing process.

He said, “Other matters are yet to be wrapped up with higher hopes of reaching a win-win situation.’’