Binance adds 12 Nigerian banks to its Peer-to-Peer platform

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by volume of transactions, just announced that it added 12 Nigerian banks to its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platform in a bid to reduce the possibility of disruptions during the process of P2P transactions.

Binance added 21 banks across the African continent; however, 12 or 57% of those banks are Nigerian banks which include: Access Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, FCMB, GTBank, Keystone Bank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria.

Due to the heavy concentration of Nigerian banks, it would suggest that a chunk of Binance’s P2P volume comes from the country.

Binance argues that by using a specific local bank or e-wallet in the advertisement as a payment method before picking P2P users to transact with, it will reduce the possibility of disruptions since the counterparties can see in advance which bank is the preferred one for you to pay or receive money. Binance stated, “This will help avoid inter-bank delays and fees.”

What you should know

• In the announcement, Binance has asked its users in Africa to also suggest other local methods they would like to see on the platform.
• Of the banks listed, four of the five tier-1 banks (FUGAZ) were added to the platform, with the exception of UBA.
• Of the 12 banks listed, 9 of them are of Nigerian origin, while the other 3 are originating from other African countries or abroad.
• Recall that Nigerian banks are still banned from processing crypto-related transactions as instructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
• Although the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrencies, there, however, is still a disconnect between the two agencies as the ban by the CBN on banks is still ongoing.

A major way for Nigerians to participate in the crypto market today is through the P2P market, in which the majority of those participating use Binance as their entry point. This new feature will help reduce the delays that occur in P2P transactions, especially when it comes to intra-bank transactions.