News

No More Mallam: As CBN Ban Street Hawking Of Foreign Currencies From Jan 1st

Published

9 years ago

December 16, 2015

Street hawking of foreign exchange is no longer permissible, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said in its latest circular which sets out new guidelines for the operations of bureaux de change (BDCs). Street sale of foreign exchange by the so-called “mallams”, which is very common in Lagos, has endured for over three decades, surviving civilian and military administrations. The CBN, in a circular , did not outline how it will deal with hawkers but said from January 1, 2016, street trading of the dollar is “non-permissible” and will be severely punished by the bank.
“Similarly, it shall be a ground for the revocation of Licence should any street trader in foreign currencies be found to have any business relationship with a Licenced BDC,” the guideline reads.
The circular, titled “Revised operational guidelines for bureaux de change in Nigeria”, prescribes that for a BDC to be considered valid in 2016, its must meet a financial requirement of depositing N71.45 million with the CBN.