ABCON’s to bridge...

guidance and regulation, has reduced the volume of dollar inflows to the economy.

According to him, a World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief showed that sub-Saharan Africa attracted $49 billion in remittances inflow in 2021 while projecting that the officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are expected to increase by 4.2 percent this year to reach $630 billion while the SSA region will hit $53 billion in 2022.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s contribution to the remittances fund, according to Gwadabe, is expected to rise when BDCs are allowed to receive funds from Nigerians in Diaspora into the economy as he emphasised that BDCs are to perform this role through contactless and digitised channels that make collections easy and seamless.

“There is an urgent need to review the guidelines on BDC’s Scope of Operations to include participation in payment space, such as agency banking, Point of Sale (PoS) services, inbound and outbound forex transfers, ATM forex services, to reflect global business model practice. BDCs should be allowed to access dollars or diaspora remittances through the autonomous forex windows that enable operators to receive IMTOs proceeds, carry out online dollar operations and Point of Sale (PoS) agency, among others.

“The BDCs should be able to operate a network of digital solutions for PTA/ BTA. This would reduce overheads, and improve profitability. Some BDCs might still consider working closer with commercial banks. The ABCON can also be recognized as a selfregulatory organisation to enable it to operate effectively and sanction erring members. We wish to reiterate our resolve to align with the policy thrust of the apex bank and ensure that ABCON members play their roles professionally and strategically in the interest of the market and economy,” Gwadabe said.

The ABCON boss also called for the establishment of training institutes to enhance capacity and infrastructure in the industry and broaden players’ business scope with cashback incentives for those that patronise BDCs while also implementing a less cumbersome and complex documentation requirements for end users as he insisted that now is the time to break the current industry monopoly that puts the remittances market in the hands of few players depriving others from tapping into the plan.

He also reiterated that the recognition of the role of BDCs in the Nigerian financial sector remains the first step to building a sustainable and viable forex market that is comparable to what is obtainable in other developed economies.

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