ABCON, NIBSS, sensitise BDC operators on BVN validation

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) in collaboration with the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has carried out a comprehensive sensitization of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) on usage and deployment of Bank Verification Number (BVN) Validation Portal provided by NIBBS.

Speaking on the exercise, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the BVN validation sensitization programme was part of the confidence-building agenda of the association to ensure that BDC operators abide by the rules guiding the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.

He said the sensitization programme became exigent given that the world is going digital, and BDCs under his leadership must stay ahead of the pack, deploying time-tested technology to deliver seamless services to their numerous customers.

According to him, the sensitization programme was held in the six geopolitical zones – namely Kano, Lagos, Awka and Abuja, among others. The programme, he added, was attended by over 3,500 registered operators across the country.

“The ABCON/NIBSS Sensitisation Programme on BVN Validation Portal has been on in the last two months. We are happy that all our six geopolitical zones have been covered. It is our own input to the CBN’s policy implementation and an opportunity to take confidence-building in BDCs’ operations to the next level,” he said.

Gwadabe added that BDCs are ready and committed to abiding by CBN’s regulations on the forex market.

“The CBN directed BDCs to validate the authenticity of BVN that clients wanting to buy forex submit to them. Already, the BVN is becoming very important to government, hence, we are thinking ahead and equipping our members with the right skills and technology. We are committed to ensuring that our members do not fall short of regulatory requirements,” he said.

He said the BDCs have supported the CBN to achieve exchange rate stability as seen in the naira exchanging at N361/$1 at the weekend, from over N520/$1 last February.

Gwadabe appealed to the CBN to help BDCs reduce rising bank charges associated with their transactions. “BDCs are charged N1,000 per N1 million transaction and with each operator paying as much as N67,000 for the N67 million monthly transactions. These charges are too high, and I urge the CBN to help reduce the charges which are becoming huge burden on BDC operators,” he said.

The CBN had directed all licensed BDCs to ensure that all transactions they consummate have the BVN of the buying customers. The information must be included in the forex returns to the regulator. In the case of corporate customers, the BVN of a director of an authorised signatory of the entity must be provided to the BDC.

Gwadabe explained that to ensure a hitch-free implementation of the directive, the CBN has continuously provided list of all licensed BDCs to the NIBSS to enable the firm make available the necessary hardware token that would be used by the BDC in accessing the NIBSS portal.

The NIBSS has subsequently made the portal available on its website to facilitate access for the confirmation/validation of the BVN number of the BDCs’ customers.

Gwadabe disclosed that the NIBSS’s Portal was developed to enable BDCs comply with the CBN’s directive that BDC customers provide their BVN before buying foreign exchange.

He said such BVN must be validated by the CBN authorised forex dealer through the NIBSS portal before all transactions are consummated. He said that ABCON carried out the sensitization to ensure that BDCs effectively comply with the directive.

The ABCON boss praised the CBN’s drive to stabilise the forex market, stem the rampant cases of forex leakages and illicit money transfer from the country.

He said that ABCON aligns with the CBN’s vision of providing a stable framework for the economic development of Nigeria, through effective, efficient, and transparent implementation of monetary and exchange rate policy, and management of the financial sector.