ABCON Sensitises BDCs on BVN Validation
The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) in collaboration with the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has sensitised BDCs on usage and deployment of Bank Verification Number (BVN) Validation Portal provided by the NIBBS. Speaking on the exercise, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the BVN validation 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 market. He said the exercise became necessary, given that the world was going digital, adding that BDCs under his leadership must stay ahead of the pack by deploying time-tested technology to deliver seamless services to their numerous customers.
According to him, the sensitisation 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.
He added: “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.”
According to Gwadabe, his members were willing and committed to abiding by the 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 N360/$1 at the weekend, from over N520/$1 last February. Gwadabe, however, appealed to the central bank 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 licenced 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.