BVN is affecting sales of foreign exchange – Bureau De Change (BDC) operators

Some Bureau De Change (BDC) 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.