My people, listen well, e don happen! Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) don clear ground as dem don collect N192 million from 82 new Bureau De Change (BDC) operators wey just get dem final licences. Na serious money we dey talk about here o!

This gbege start from November 27, 2025, when CBN announce say dem don grant final licences to 82 BDCs. According to wetin dey happen, CBN follow the 2024 guidelines wey sabi the matter on how these BDCs go dey operate. E mean say these operators go follow correct rules to manage foreign exchange wey dey come and go.

From the analysis wey Saturday PUNCH do, na the N192 million na im be the total wey CBN go fit collect as non-refundable fees from these 82 BDCs. And the breakdown e be like this: the two Tier 1 operators go pay N12 million while the other 80 Tier 2 operators go pay N180 million combined.

For the two Tier 1 operators, dem go pay application fee of N1 million each, plus dem go cough out N5 million each for licence fee. Dem don drop N12 million for CBN lap like dat! Meanwhile, the Tier 2 operators no dey play as dem go pay N250,000 for application fee and N2 million for licence fee, wey dey total N180 million for dem.

The main reason wey CBN dey push this kind serious business na to make sure say foreign exchange dey flow well for we customers and to stop any tsunamis of money laundering wey fit happen. Dem want make sure say everybody wey dey run BDC dey follow the book, no time for sharp-sharp style.

As CBN dey issue more licences, dem still dey remind Nigerian public say to no do business with anybody wey no get valid licence because e fit land you for trouble! Dem say if you japa japa with the unlicensed ones, you dey break Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020. This one no go funny at all o!

So, my brothers and sisters, na check am well as Tier 1 BDCs fit operate nationwide, but Tier 2 operators only fit dey chop work inside one state. If dem sabi the rules, dem fit open small branches up to five for dem state wey dem dey operate.

All these reforms wey CBN dey push, na to make sure say we dey grow our finance game and make everything dey transparent. E go be like say as we enter new year, the forex wahala go stand corrected, make we dey shine our eyes.