BVN is affecting sales of foreign exchange – BDC operators

BVN is affecting sales of foreign exchange – BDC operators

BVN is affecting sales of foreign exchange – BDC operators

Some Bureau De Change operators on
Thursday said that the requirements of
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for
sale of foreign exchange was affecting
their sales.
They disclosed this to the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
They said that inability of customers to
provide all the required data had been
posing challenges in the sale of foreign
exchange
An operator, who preferred anonymity,
told NAN that many customers had
discrepancies with the information on
their international passports and the
Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
He cited the problem of not having same
information such as difference in date of
birth on the two requirements.
The trader said that the extension of
BVN to the sub sector as part of
requirements for sale of foreign
exchange was giving the BDCs some
problems.
According to him, foreign exchange
should be allowed to be sold without
challenges.
He said that the policy had reduced the
level of foreign exchange sold on weekly
basis by the BDCs.
“Extending BVN to BDCs has brought
problem to us. This is because we do not
have the power to store people’s data
like the bank.
“Commercial banks are deposit money
institutions that are backed by Data
Protection Act to store customers’ data.
“In our own case, customers are not
willing to divulge personal information,”
the trader said.
NAN reports that the requirement
needed for purchase of forex before the
BVN registration were international
passports, travel tickets and valid visas.
The adoption of BVN as a condition for
the sale of foreign exchange is expected
to reduce the incidence of multiple
purchases, round tripping and illicit
transfer of funds.
It also facilitate enforcement of
authorised limits of forex sales to end
users, sanitize the retail segment of the
market and engender policies that will
facilitate better allocation of foreign
exchange.