Bureau de change is one of the lucrative businesses you can start in Nigeria, in the course of this post, you will know why.
In Nigeria, bureau de change operators are required to register and be licensed by various government agencies.
in actual fact, in Nigeria, the law frowns at non licensed bureau de change organisations, and frequently takes measures to prohibit illegal bureau de change operators.
Bureau de change is a term notably associated with the practice of exchanging currencies, including foreign currencies in your own country, at a higher rate.
In Nigeria, there are hundreds of licensed bureau de change organizations, with the higher concentration in Lagos Nigeria.
In order to operate a burau de change in Nigeria, you will need to comply with the requirements set down by central bank of Nigeria, and corporate affairs commission.
There are Pre and post-requirements sets down by both government agencies.
A Pre-Requirement set down by the Government for the registration of bureau de change in Nigeria.
The company must be registered under the category of a limited liability company, hence no business name can be registered as a bureau de change.
A company setting out to carry on activities as a bdc operator in Nigeria, must have its registered address in Nigeria, and have a minimum of paid share share capital of N35m .
PRE REGISTARTION REQUIREMENTS-AT CAC FOR BDC BUSINESS OPERATORS IN NIGERIA
i. Apply for Name search and reservation through an accredited cac agent.
ii. Obtain a Name Approval from cac.
iii. Pay up for the minimum share capital to cac (fees for each 1 million share capital is N15,000) the minimum share capital to start up this business is thirty-five million shares (N525,000)
iv. Pay for the stamp duties chargeable by federal inland revenue service, approximately (N300,000).
V. Prepare and submit a memorandum and article of association of the company.
vi. Allot all the paid share capital to the holders. of the company.
vi. Fill all the personal information of the shareholders and directors of the company including NIN.
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR BDC BUSINESS BY CBN
I. Deposit A non-refundable application fee of N150,000.
ii. Make Your Application for the grant of approval in principle of license for the bureau de change company.
iii. Attache in your Application, a feasibility report, a copy of the draft Memorandum and Articles of Association, a letter of intent, and personal information of the proposed shareholders including NIN and Bvn.
iv. Upon the grant of approval in principle, the cbn expects you to forward the following within six months of the approval in principle.
- A non-refundable application fee of N150,000
- A non-refundable licensing fee of N1 Million
- A Mandatory caution deposit of N35 Million to the cbn.
Where the company wants to change the name,the fees need be negotiated with the cac agent.
Upon the receipt of the above mentioned, the cbn shall consider, the application and where it is merited,shall grant the final license to the bdc.
The service charge for this registration by cac agent is mostly at twenty percent the minimum share capital, this could be higher, considering the enormous work to be done by the Cac, and where needs arise, visits shall be made to various government offices for smooth registration.
BDC companies in Nigeria, gets alot of forex injection by the cbn weekly, and have access to trade and exchange.
Licensed BDC are not permitted to do the following..:
- Dealing in offshore business or maintaining foreign correspondence relationship.
- Dealing in any trade-related import activities.
- Maintaining a foreign account in whatever form.
- Street trading of foreign exchange.
- Carrying on capital market activities and other activities that may be termed non-permissible by the CBN