The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called for the guidance and collaboration of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to harmonise the peer-to-peer (P2P) foreign exchange (FX) sector in the country.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Director General of SEC, Dr. Timi Agama, the President of ABCON, Aminu Gwadabe, noted 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, who congratulated the SEC DG on his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, explained that ABCON has invested in requisite technology to ensure the continued existence of the business and preserve the integrity of the sub-sector.
He noted that the future of the BDC business is digital currency, stating 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.
Gwadabe explained that ABCON is the umbrella body for all licenced retail foreign exchange dealers established in 1991 to liaise with regulators, relevant stakeholders and security agencies for a transparent retail end forex market.
He said: “As at today, there are over 34 million Nigerians dealing in digital currency and the number is rising by about nine per cent with a huge market of $9 billion annually. There are thousands of multichannel virtual currency FX platforms and none is indigenous to Nigeria. P2P represents individual to individual transactions.
“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 licence to operate in digital currency transactions. This would entail that whoever has USDT and wants to trade it should approach licenced BDCs for their transactions.”
Responding, the SEC DG said the commission was open to help the sector grow.
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.”
Agama also reiterated that there were new rules put in place to accommodate local intellectuals to develop digital platforms, adding that the SEC would cooperate with ABCON to achieve the desired objectives.
ABCON’s technical partner, Oluwasegun Kosemani, thanked the SEC DG and his team for their warm reception.
He told the team that many resources had been allocated to the research and development of the platform, disclosing that, “we are working on collaborating with every emerging verifiable block of the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in Nigeria like BICCoN, CDIN, SIBAN, DCC, Bitcoin organisations, local peer to peer exchanges and merchants etc.”
