•CBN head office, Abuja
All legacy Bureau De Change operators who failed to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new licensing requirements have automatically lost their licenses, effectively ceasing to operate in the country.
The development was revealed by the apex bank in its ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document on the current reform of the bureau de change, published on its website on Tuesday.
According to the document, the CBN has now enforced the final cutoff, declaring that any BDC that did not meet the requirements by the end of November is no longer recognised, reports Channels TV.
“The Guidelines provided a transition timeline of six months from the effective date, 3 June 2024, with a deadline of 3 December 2024, for all existing BDCs to meet the requirement of the new Guidelines or lose their licence(s). However, the management of the CBN graciously extended this deadline by another six months, which ended 3 June 2025, to give ample time for as many legacy BDCs desirous of meeting the new requirements to do so.
“Consequently, any legacy BDC that failed to meet the requirements of the new Guidelines as of 30 November 2025 has ceased to be a BDC, as its licence no longer exists. Please visit the CBN website for the updated list of existing BDCs in Nigeria,” the apex bank said.
The fresh move was after it said only 82 BDCs had been licensed to operate, having met its new guidelines.
According to the CBN, before its latest decision, an extended compliance window was granted under the revised BDC Guidelines. Existing operators were initially given six months, from 3 June to 3 December 2024, to satisfy the new regulatory conditions.
The CBN later granted an additional six-month extension, which elapsed on 3 June 2025, to allow more operators to align with the updated standards.
The new measures form part of broader efforts by the CBN to strengthen transparency, compliance, and stability within Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
The new CBN regulatory framework for BDCs, introduced in February 2024, mandated BDC operators to meet higher capital requirements. Tier-1 operators are required to meet a minimum capital requirement of N2bn, while Tier-2 operators must meet N500m as MCR.
The bank added that it would continue to receive applications on its Licensing, Approval and Requests Portal from prospective promoters, and those that meet the criteria will be considered for a license.
However, the CBN said it reserves the right to discontinue the licensing of BDCs at any time.
