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Finance & capitalFinanceNigeria

Obtain a Bureau de Change licence (CBN)

License a BDC with the CBN under the 2024 Guidelines (Tier 1 or Tier 2): choose tier → Approval-in-Principle → Provisional Approval & integration → Final Approval.

Procedure
4steps
Coordination
2agencies
Category
Finance & capitalFinance
Task links

Go to the exact next page

Application, requirements, forms, fees, and tracking are labelled separately.

Form or guideOpen the official documentCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) / CAC · cbn.gov.ng
Routing map

Who you will deal with

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) / CACCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Procedure

The steps, in order

Each route below is scoped to the step it can actually complete.

  1. 01

    Choose the tier and reserve the name

    Agency
    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) / CAC
    What is required
    Tier 1: ₦2bn capital, nationwide operation (application fee ₦1m, licence fee ₦5m). Tier 2: ₦500m capital, up to 5 branches in one state (application fee ₦250k, licence fee ₦2m). Reserve the company name.
    Documents
    Chosen tier; reserved name; capital plan
    Typical timeline
    Selection
    Use for this step
  2. 02

    Apply for Approval-in-Principle (AIP)

    Agency
    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
    What is required
    Apply for AIP (a pre-condition to incorporation, not authority to operate); lodge the required capital with the CBN.
    Documents
    AIP application; capital lodgement; promoter details
    Typical timeline
    AIP phase
    Use for this step
  3. 03

    Obtain Provisional Approval and integrate

    Agency
    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
    What is required
    Within 6 months of AIP obtain Provisional Approval; within 60 days satisfy PA conditions and integrate into CBN, NIBSS, NFIU and NRS reporting architecture.
    Documents
    Incorporation; PA conditions; systems integration
    Typical timeline
    PA + 60 days
    Use for this step
  4. 04

    Obtain Final Approval / licence

    Agency
    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
    What is required
    On meeting all conditions, the CBN grants Final Approval to commence operations.
    Documents
    Completed PA conditions; licence fee
    Typical timeline
    On approval
    Use for this step
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