One of Nigeria’s leading fintech companies, OPay, has warned its customers against trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency on its app.
The company, in a notice issued on Friday, said it would block any account found engaging in such trading and also forward the details of the account owner to the regulator.
This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to beam its searchlights on fintech companies in the country. Earlier, the CBN had directed OPay, Moniepoint, Palmpay, and Kuda Bank to stop onboarding new customers.
- “In compliance with the CBN directive, please note that OPay prohibits any cryptocurrency and all virtual currency trading. Any account engaging in such activities will be closed, and customer information will be shared with regulatory authorities.
- “Please ensure that your account does not involve any cryptocurrency or any other virtual currency transaction,” the company warned.
Crypto as security issue
OPay’s warning comes as Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) is reported to have classified crypto trading as a national security issue. According to the CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, the classification means a new crypto regulation that will ban peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies is in the works.
This also requires the fintechs to report any account discovered to be trading crypto to the NSA through their regulator, the CBN.
Nairametrics gathered that this classification led to the restriction placed on the four fintechs from onboarding new customers. Speaking at the TMT Business Law conference in Lagos on Thursday, Eniolorunda, confirmed that the NSA ordered the pause in new customer signups.
- “Customers can easily open Tier 3 accounts on fintech platforms in seconds. The NSA found a lot of accounts that were involved in crypto trading and blocked the accounts. They were worried that fintechs are rapid [in opening accounts] and told us to stop onboarding,” he was quoted in a report by TechCabal.
