The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted its ban on OPay, Moniepoint, Kuda, Palmpay, and Paga, clearing the way for the fintechs to resume onboarding new customers.
This comes about five weeks after the apex bank stopped the fintechs from onboarding new customers over concerns that their accounts were being used for accounts being used for illicit foreign exchange transactions.
While the CBN has not issued any official statement regarding that, two of the affected fintechs, OPay and Kuda confirmed the development in separate messages to their customers on Monday.
What they are saying
Announcing the development via a post on its X handle, OPay said:
“We are thrilled to announce that the Central Bank of Nigeria has given OPay the thumbs up to resume onboarding new users. This milestone highlights our dedication to following the rules, keeping your information safe and secure, and preventing any shady activities.”
Against the backdrop of the concerns expressed by the apex bank leading to the ban, OPay reiterated that it strictly adheres to the approved KYC verification processes and urged its customers to ensure that the due verification process is followed for all accounts and all requirements are completely fulfilled.
Kuda also took to the social media platform to share the news with its customers and followers. The fintech wrote,
“As you probably already know, we’ve been working with the CBN to meet recent regulatory requirements by putting more account controls in place.
“Based on the work we’ve done, we’ll resume signing up new customers this week. Please, note that you’ll need your BVN, NIN, and your proof of address (followed by address verification) to open a Tier 3 account.”
Backstory
The CBN on April 29 directed the five fintech companies to stop onboarding new customers. This came days after 1,146 accounts were blocked for peer-to-peer crypto trading.
However, the fintechs argued that the directive might be misdirected, as the majority of the implicated accounts belong to commercial banks, not fintech platforms.
The country’s National Security Adviser (NSA) also categorised crypto as a security concern and was keen to have the fintechs ramp up Know Your Customer (KYC) and fraud measures to prevent crypto transactions going through the fintechs.
On May 20, 2024, the fintechs were given several conditions for the onboarding freeze to be lifted including asking them to block P2P crypto transfers and mandating physical address verification for all tiers of accounts. The fintechs were also asked to update their facial verification for customers.
