- Digital bank Eyowo announces plans to resume financial services using its Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP) license, following the revocation of its Microfinance license by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
- With the PSSP license, Eyowo is 99.8% ready to resume services and is fully backed by the CBN to provide payment services, according to Co-CEO Yomi Adedeji.
- Eyowo has started connecting its tier 2 and tier 3 customers to new accounts powered by partner Providus Bank, enabling interbank transactions, with further details to be communicated to customers in the next email update.
Digital bank, Eyowo, has said it would soon resume its financial services using its Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP) licence after the disruption caused by the revocation of its Microfinance licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Co-CEO of the company, Yomi Adedeji, who disclosed this on Tuesday in an update provided to its customers, said the bank is now 99.8% ready to resume its services. According to him, with the PSSP licence, Eyowo is fully backed by the CBN to continue providing its payment services.
Separate from the MFB licence, the PSSP licence allows a company to provide financial services such as the operation of payment processing gateway and portals which are utilized by merchants to accept debit or credit card purchases from customers. Eyowo is one of the 75 companies licensed by CBN as PSSPs.
While Eyowo customers’ money has been trapped since the revocation of its MFB licence on May 23 as they are unable to withdraw or send money, Adedeji said the bank is now on the verge of allowing interbank transactions. He said the bank has started to connect its tier 2 and tier 3 customers to new accounts powered by its partner, Providus Bank, which will allow them to carry out interbank transactions.
The next email
While noting that the next email the customers would receive would be on how they can resume interbank transactions, Adedeji said:
- “Please bear in mind that with our PSSP license, we are fully backed by the CBN to continue providing the services you enjoy on Eyowo. We appreciate our partner, Providus Bank, for taking proactive steps to provide us with all the support we needed to get all Eyowo services back up for you and your business. They have been our proud partners of potential.
- “We have connected all Tier 2 and Tier 3 users to new accounts, powered by Providus Bank. Tier 1 customers would be upgraded as soon as your BVN is added. As we go live the next email you will receive will include all you need to know to resume interbank transactions.”
While noting that the sudden revocation of its MFB licence by the CBN was ‘one’ obstacle too many, the Eyowo CEO said the company empathized with all of its customers for the pain and difficulty that the action had caused. “I rely completely on Eyowo and experienced first-hand the same challenges you faced,” he added.
Alluding to the financial difficulty many of the bank’s customers have been facing as a result of the licence revocation, Adedeji said:
- “The problems of financial confusion, difficulty, and stagnation, especially at adulting, are without borders, for both humans and We know this because we have also experienced it ourselves. We are committed to creating a future where everyone with a mobile phone has the guide they need to financial freedom and prosperity.”
In case you missed it
The CBN had on March 23, 2023, withdrawn the microfinance licence of Eyowo, and 46 other companies. The apex bank followed with a list of another 132 Microfinance Banks, Finance Companies, and Mortgage Banks, whose licences were also revoked.
According to the apex bank, the licences of the banks were revoked because they had either remained inactive, insolvent, failed to render returns, closed shop, or ceased to carry on the type of banking business for which they were licensed for more than six (6) months. The bank said this is in contravention of the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020, and the Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Microfinance Banks in Nigeria.
The CBN said the various actions taken by the Regulatory Authority to halt their persistent failure to carry on business had failed, hence the decision to revoke their licence.