Dollar To Naira Black Market Exchange Rate Today February 7
Dollar to Naira exchange rate at the black market today, Monday 7 February is ₦560/$1 buying rate and N565/$1 selling rate according to bureau de change operators in Lagos and Abuja. The ₦560/$1 rate has remained fairly consistent since before Christmas and has maintained the same price so far throughout 2022.
Earlier in January, the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN took a step towards devaluing the naira when it adopted the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window rate – the naira jumped from N411.73/$1 which it has been for months to N427/$1 at the official CBN controlled market.
The CBN accused bureau de change operators of arbitrarily fixing the exchange rate of the Naira to their personal advantage, but months since the apex bank stopped selling forex to them, the naira is still yet to make much significant gains.
What does the official rate mean?
The official rate is the exchange rate approved by the CBN – the Central Bank of Nigeria is the sole regulator of Naira and determines the exchange rate. About 6 months ago, the CBN banned the activities of Bureau DE Change operators and ordered banks to take over the buying and selling of foreign currencies in the country. The CBN is selling FX directly to the banks so they can in turn sell to end users in an attempt to control the price of Forex. The price at which the CBN is selling is called the official rate.
To get the official rate, which is much lower than the parallel market rate, you have to go through the licensed commercial banks in the country. It makes sense to buy at the official rate, but if you are selling you might want to consider the parallel market.
Why do people buy currency at the black market?
People buy currency at the black market because getting currency at the official rate from commercial banks is extremely difficult. The banks also have a limit of $5000 as personal allowance for travellers and $10000 as business travel allowance. Untop of that plenty of paperwork is required and most times some banks simply claim they don’t have foreign currency.
That is if you’re buying, if you’re selling the banks buy your Dollar at #427/1$ while the black market buy same at #560/1$. Selling dollar at the black market for those who earn in Dollars such as bloggers, YouTubers and other freelancers makes more sense as they get a high price.
How to find black market bureau de change operators in Nigeria
Like everything that involves financial transactions, one needs to be very careful when dealing especially with Nigerians. Bureau de change operators can be found at the commercial district of every major city in Nigeria. They can also be found at airports and some major hotels in cities. These operators are usually of Hausa ethnicity, hence the name Aboki.
As a safety precaution, make sure to always deal with operators that have a fixed address in a public shop, that way you can always find them in case something goes wrong.
If you are in Ilorin, black market bureau de change operators can be found inside Kwara Hotel complex along Ahmadu Bello Way, just before government house. The operators located there are tested and you can always trust them to give you a fair price.
