The Central Bank of Nigeria has lifted its ban on onboarding new customers imposed on five prominent fintech startups: Paga, OPay, Kuda, Palmpay, and Moniepoint, with immediate effect.
This comes after the expiration of a May 31 deadline given
to the fintechs to meet specific compliance requirements.
“All hands were on deck to fix this issue. Teams were
working round the clock,” a source close to the matter said.
In April, fintechs were asked to suspend account opening for
new customers due to Know Your Customers issues. This directive was also
connected to an ongoing clampdown on Peer-to-Peer cryptocurrency transactions
in the country.
At the time of their suspension, the affected fintechs
warned customers to desist from crypto transactions on their platforms because
they were obliged to report such activities.
A source explained that the restriction affected fintechs’
ability to onboard new customers, impacting their operations. Confirming the
development, OPay told customers through its X handle, “We are thrilled to
announce that the Central Bank of Nigeria has given OPay the thumbs up to
resume onboarding new users.”
The fintech reiterated that it strictly adhered to the
approved KYC verification process and urged its customers to ensure that the
due verification process is followed for all their accounts.
The ban lift comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria
disclosed that its restriction on fintechs may last for months. Olayemi
Cardoso, the CBN governor, revealed at the 295th Monetary Policy Committee that
the affected fintech firms would resume enrolling new customers in a couple of
months.
“I am confident that as time goes on, and hopefully in
another couple of months, all these will be something of the past, and then you
will see that sector going back into what they’ve been known to do before, but
certainly with a very stronger regulatory framework,” he said.
According to the CBN boss, the apex bank engaged with many
players regarding the need to strengthen their operations, and the directive
was part of actions to block money laundering and illicit flows.
The recent restriction on fintechs might be part of renewed
efforts to strengthen regulation governing the space. “Regulation is very
critical in a sector that seems to have grown so incredibly rapidly,” Cardoso
emphasised during the MPC meeting.
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