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Last week was another hectic week for the Naira on the FX market as it plunged into new lows. There were also multiple reports of the government ordering the shutdown of cryptocurrency exchanges and EFCC officials arresting local Bureau de Change operators.

It appears the Central Bank of Nigeria has turned its attention to the BDC market in its efforts to stabilise the forex market and ensure compliance in the sector. In a 51-page circular released on Friday, the CBN highlighted new guidelines for BDC operations — which the government often blames for the FX crisis — in the country. One major thing to note is:

The CBN is kicking off a two-tier system for BDC operations.

• Tier 1 BDCs will be licensed to operate nationally. They will be required to have ₦2b minimum share capital — the minimum amount of assets a company must have — and a caution deposit of ₦200m with the CBN. In addition, there will also be an application and license fee of ₦1m and ₦5m, respectively.

• Tier 2 BDCs can only operate in one state or the FCT and must have ₦500 million minimum share capital and a caution deposit of ₦50 million. The application and license fee here is ₦250,000 and ₦2m.

  It will be interesting to see how the CBN plans to implement these new regulations and their impact on the FX market. We have one more thing to keep our fingers crossed on.

  In this letter:

  • #NairaLife:The Software Developer Picking Himself Up After Losing $500K in Seven Months
  • 7 Nigerians Talk About the Struggle to Gift Their Abroad Friends
  • #ZikokoMoneyVideo: How is Inflation Affecting the Car Business?
  • QUIZ: Only Rich People Can Score 9/12 on This Bank Slogan Quiz
  • Where The Money At?!

The 41-year-old software developer in this #NairaLife had built considerable wealth over a 10-year career and was on his way to achieving his second-passport dreams when he lost his entire life savings to a botched crypto project and cryptocurrency exchange in 2022.

Two years later, he’s rebuilding his savings and investment portfolio and chasing a $1m/month payday.

Read his #NairaLife here

Zikoko Naira Life has told stories of Nigerians and money for about five years. Now’s time to take it a step further and bring everyone to talk and share experiences about this money thing, wouldn’t you say? What can you expect from this event? More imporatly, when is it happening?

We’ll share this information as soon as we can. Click the link below to be the first to know.

I want to be the first to know

You might think your love language is gifting the people you love until they leave the country, and you now have to show your love in other ways. Why? Because while you may want to be intentional, the exchange rate, distance and logistics will force you to be creative.

We spoke with seven Nigerians who have friends and family abroad, and they talked about the struggle to send them gifts on meaningful days.

Read about their struggles here.

Guys, we’re adding a new section to this newsletter. We all have questions about money we’d like some clarity on, don’t we?

Enter Aunty M. Let’s say she’s the experienced older sibling you can come to for answers and actionable money advice. We’ve got you if it’s a personal finance or money question.

All you need to do is send your questions below, and we’ll take it from there.

Submit your questions here

If you’re wondering how much the (used) car market is responding to how quickly the naira is losing its value, this video is an excellent place to start.

Watch the video here