Dollar To Naira Black Market Exchange Rate Today May 5, 2022
The Naira to Dollar exchange rate at the black market today, Thursday May 5 is ₦580/$1 buying rate and N585/$1 selling rate according to bureau de change operators in Lagos and Abuja.
These buying and selling rates are just a rough estimate that can vary depending on your bureau de change merchant and your negotiating skills.
At the maximum, you shouldn’t be selling or buying at more than +/- 10 naira from the prices stated above.
Over at the official CBN regulated market, the naira is trading at ₦417.30/$1.
What does the official CBN exchange rate mean?
Sometimes last year, the CBN accuses bureau de change operators in the country of artificially devaluing the naira in other to make profits. It subsequently banned their activities and in one episode, declared foreign exchange platform, AbokiFX an enemy of the state.
The CBN then started to publish the “true” value of the naira on its website.
The CBN rate is the rate at which banks sell PTA and BTA to travelers. It is the rate at which importers and exporters officially do business in the country.
The black market on the other hand are operators who exchange currencies for people usually at a much higher rate than the CBN’s. The CBN has long maintained that the black market account for a small portion of the country’s foreign exchange market.
Why do Nigerians buy currency at the black market?
Despite that fact that the CBN has declared the activities of bureau de change operators as illegal, the black market is still a thriving platform.
For starters, the CBN has capped PTA and BTA allowances at $5,000 and $10,000 respectively. travelers who require more have to rely on the black market to fill in the balance.
Both PTA and BTA is only available to Nigerian citizens, foreign expatriates who live in Nigeria have to source their forex from the black market when traveling.
For bloggers, freelancers and other Nigerians who earn in foreign currency, it is much advantageous for them to exchange their currency at the black market. They get #580/$ at the black market compared to the #418/$ they would get at the official CBN market.
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.
