BDCs’ portal goes live, integrates with CBN, NIBSS, NFIU

[FILE] dollar. Photo credit: Guardian Nigeria

 By Chijioke Nelson

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) will launch its live run automation portal, in Lagos, tomorrow, a process that started since 2016. The portal’s operations are expected to automate all Bureaux De Change (BDCs), with those of Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to improve the level of compliance with set regulations.

The project came with three layers, starting from a successful online real-time registration of members that are over 4,100 nationwide, followed by the automation of ABCON’s operational process, book keeping, issuance of receipt, preparation of accounts, balance sheets, ledgers and sales/purchase registers.

Speaking to financial journalists ahead of the portal launch, ABCON President, Aminu Gwadabe, said the group had secured the apex bank’s no- objection approval to launch the live run portal.
The approval, he said, reaffirmed the regulator’s commitment to a transparent and viable foreign exchange (forex) market where stakeholders’ interests are protected.
Gwadabe said the world is going digital and BDC operators, under his leadership, are committed to staying ahead of the competition by deploying time-tested technology to deliver effective services to customers.
According to him, the portal will sustain transparent transactions in the BDC corridor, boost the morale of its members and ensure their continuous operations.
The ABCON chief said the group had fully upgraded its Information Communication and Technology (ICT) platforms, to achieve full digitisation of BDCs operations in line with its goal of sustaining transparent operation and prompt rendition of weekly returns to operators.
He said the group also recently launched the www.naijabdcs.com to serve as a reliable platform for local and international investors, who will rely on it to access uniform forex rate across states, regions and markets nationally.
“Of special note is also the integration of our platform to immigration platform for the verifications of international passport,” he said.
Already, we are in advance engagement with the Irish technology experts for the achievement of this idea.
“The final layer is the one that excites me a lot and has to do with a trading platform for BDCs in Nigeria. Our technical experts in India, Poland are in advance stage of completion for onward submission to the CBN,” he added.