CBN begins refund of capital deposit, licensing fees to BDCs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the refund of minimum capital deposits and licensing fees to Promoters who have pending Bureau De Change (BDC) license applications.

This was disclosed in a circular dated July 28, 2021 and signed by Ibrahim Tukur, for director, financial policy and regulation department.

This followed the decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to discontinue dollar sales to the Bureau De Change (BDCs) over trading FX wholesale in contravention of their licences, and Nigeria’s FX regulations.
The CBN advised the affected BDCs Promoters to forward their requests for the refund in writing to the director, financial policy and regulation department, CBN Abuja.

According to the circular, the requests should be accompanied with the following documents: (a) telex copy of the capital deposits of N35 million, (b) account details for the refund, which should be the same as the account from which the capital deposit originated, including the: bank name, account name and account number. (C) copy of the bank draft/telex for payment of licensing fee of N1 million (if any).

They are to submit to the CBN headquarters in Abuja or Lagos annex, a hardcopy of the request clearly marked “Refund of BDC Capital Deposit” in an envelope.
In addition, the CBN directed all deposit money banks to henceforth stop accepting Instructions from customers to transfer capital deposit of N35 million to the designated CBN account for the purpose of applying for BDC licenses.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.