authorised dealer
Authorised Dealer is a bank or licensed operator that the Central Bank permits to legally buy and sell foreign currency for the public.
In plain English
Remember that man by the roadside near the bureau de change, waving a fan of dollar notes and calling out rates in a low voice, like he was selling something forbidden? Your uncle told you never to change money with him, and not since the rate was bad, but because if anything went wrong, nobody would answer for it.
That warning was really about a licence. An Authorised Dealer is the person or institution the Central Bank of Nigeria has formally approved to deal in foreign exchange. It could be a commercial bank like GTBank or Access Bank, or it could be a licensed bureau de change with its papers in order. If they are on that approved list, they are answerable to the CBN. The roadside man is answerable to nobody.
This matters for very ordinary reasons. Say your sister in London wants to send ₦500,000 worth of pounds home to help with your mother's hospital bill. If she sends it through an authorised bank, that transaction is recorded, traceable, and protected by rules. If the money passes through an unlicensed hand, there is no protection if the rate is manipulated or the money simply disappears.
Authorised Dealers are also the ones the CBN uses to manage the market itself. When the CBN wants to inject dollars into the system, or enforce a new rule about who can access forex for school fees or medical bills, it does not shout into the market. It goes through these licensed banks and dealers, because they are the official channel.
So the next time you see 'Authorised Dealer' stamped on a document, or hear a bank say they can process your foreign transfer, understand what that stamp is really saying. It is saying, this one has been checked, this one has rules to follow, and if something goes wrong, there is someone to hold accountable.
A Lagos business owner needs $10,000 to pay a Chinese supplier. She applies through her bank, an Authorised Dealer, which sources the dollars at the official rate and processes the transfer with full documentation, rather than risking an unlicensed dealer who might vanish with her ₦15,000,000 naira equivalent.
Questions people ask
How do I know if a bank or bureau de change is an Authorised Dealer?
The Central Bank of Nigeria publishes a list of licensed banks and bureau de change operators on its website. A genuine dealer will also display its licence details openly rather than operating from a discreet corner.
Can an Authorised Dealer refuse to sell me foreign currency?
Yes, they can, especially if your request does not meet CBN documentation rules, such as providing proof of travel, school admission, or a valid invoice for the transaction.
Is it illegal to buy dollars from someone who is not an Authorised Dealer?
It falls outside the regulated system and carries real risk, since there is no protection if the rate is false or the money is not delivered, even though many Nigerians still do it out of convenience.
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