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Column 01 · Nova Observatory

Field Notes

Reporting from inside the corridors.

4 editions · weekly cadence
  1. 04
    23 May 2026
    Lagos desk
    6 min

    Nigeria's parallel market is tightening — for now

    CBN's May circular tightened BDC operations and pushed the parallel premium briefly below 3% — but FX reserves tell a different story.

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  2. 03
    16 May 2026
    Dakar desk
    9 min

    Dakar: the new BCEAO digital-franc pilot, from the counter

    Three days at a Dakar branch watching the eCFA pilot rollout — KYC bottlenecks, agent commissions, and what the regulators are not announcing.

  3. 02
    9 May 2026
    Casablanca desk
    11 min

    Casablanca's informal currency desks are quietly digitising

    WhatsApp groups now clear Morocco's informal MAD–EUR market faster than licensed bureaux. We sat with three operators.

  4. 01
    2 May 2026
    London desk
    6 min

    London Lagos rail: what Wise's pricing tells us about competition

    A week of test transfers across five operators on the UK–Nigeria corridor. Wise is winning on speed; the FX spread story is more nuanced.

About this column
Signed by the named author or desk. Each edition is reviewed against Nova Observatory editorial standards. Corrections are logged with timestamp on /method.