The Bureau De Change Operators in the Country have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide guidance and collaborate on harmonising the peer-to-peer (P2P) forex sector in Nigeria.
The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) made the call during an official courtesy visit to the newly appointed SEC Director-General, Timi Agama, led by Aminu Gwadabe, president of ABCON.
He congratulated the SEC D-G on his appointment by President Bola Tinubu and quickly highlighted that SEC regulates the sector that is a threat to the continued existence of BDCs in Nigeria through online virtual transactions platforms which gives access to millions of Nigerians to trade in foreign exchange without trace and accountability.
Gwadabe explained that ABCON had invested in requisite technology to ensure the continued existence of the business and preserve the integrity of the sub-sector. He opined that the future of BDC’s business is digital currency. The national president of ABCON said that the meeting with the SEC DG and the present Executive Board of the SEC was a follow up on the earlier online virtual consultation.
He noted that ABCON is the umbrella body for all licensed retail foreign exchange dealers established in 1991 to liaise with regulators, relevant stakeholders and security agencies for a transparent retail end forex market.
Gwadabe said, “As at today, there are over 34 million Nigerians dealing in digital currency and the number is rising by about 9 percent with a huge market of $9 billion annually. There are thousands of multichannel virtual currency FX platforms and none is indigenous to Nigeria, adding that P2P represents individual to individual transaction.
“To automate the entire foreign exchange retail market, ABCON has partnered with the Commodities Exchange Board, in building the platform knowing that they have sources of foreign exchange. ABCON is willing to work with SEC towards achieving full automation of the retail end of the foreign exchange market in Nigeria.
“Hence, in line with changing global business trends and ABCON’s compliance efforts towards technological innovation, the association on behalf of its membership would be pleased to be granted license to operate in digital currency transactions. This would entail that whoever has USDT and wants to trade it should approach licensed BDCs for their transactions.”
Gwadabe said: “ABCON is the umbrella body for all licensed retail foreign exchange dealers, which came into existence in 1991. Our objective is to liaise with our regulators, relevant stakeholders and security agencies as one cannot divorce the retail exchange market from the ecosystem of foreign exchange market seeing that the BDC market is global and has been in operation before our independence. It has been there before the creation of the central bank of Nigeria”.
Gwadabe explained that the system came under regulation in 1986 during the administration of former President Ibrahim Babangida, who felt the need to formalise the sector through the issuance of license by the then ministry of finance with the objective to formalise the informal sector.
Gwadabe said that as of that today there were over 34 million Nigerians dealing in digital currency and the number was rising by about 9% with a huge market of $9billion annually and there were thousands of multichannel virtual currency FX platforms and none was indigenous to Nigeria. P2P represents individual to individual transactions. · He emphasised that innovation could only be guaranteed on trust.
Timi Agama the SEC DG responded with a robust understanding of the ABCON chairman’s speech. He said: “I understand that ABCON is desirous of setting up a digital market platform with the intention to be part of the emerging digital currency ecosystem in Nigeria. We at the SEC are open to help the sector grow for the love of the country therefore there will be meetings with the relevant departments of the SEC to detail methods and strategies that will strengthen the Naira through necessary innovative ideas as shared by ABCON.”
The SEC DG also reiterated that there were new rules put in place to accommodate local intellectuals to develop digital platforms therefore the SEC would cooperate with ABCON in order to achieve the desired objectives.
Timi, who is highly knowledgeable about the virtual currency market and the market makers, directed that proposed ABCON presentation and the development of ABCON digital market model named Koletyomoni to be finalised as quickly as possible as there were other interests working underground and should be forwarded to SEC technical team for study and timely review.
He emphasised on the powers of the Government through the SEC and that the Agency would not hesitate to use its powers where necessary to keep sanity in the issuance, marketing and trading of securities in Nigeria’s capital market.
ABCON’s technical partner Oluwasegun Kosemani thanked the SEC DG and his intelligently experienced SEC team which had Wale Ajomale for their warm reception and listening to ABCON while making it known to SEC that much resources had been allocated to the research and development of the platform and that the association was working on collaborating with every emerging verifiable blocks of the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in Nigeria like BICCoN, CDIN, SIBAN, DCC, Bitcoin organisations, local peer to peer exchanges and merchants etc.
