The financial technology sector anticipates new growth as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that in a few months, mobile money operators, including popular fintech companies such as OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint, will be permitted to start adding new customers to their platforms.
This reassurance came from CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso at the 295th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in the nation’s capital, Abuja. At this gathering, it was also revealed that the MPC had decided to increase the interest rate from 24.75 to 26.25 percent.
According to Cardoso, the CBN has recently been in discussion with key industry stakeholders to reinforce the necessity of improving their operational frameworks.
These discussions are part of the bank’s broader strategy to combat financial crimes, such as money laundering, by outlining “corrective steps that will bolster the sector’s due diligence processes in both bringing on new clients and managing current ones.”
With a tone of optimism, the CBN Governor projected that “in another couple of months”, the temporary measures will be lifted, enabling the fintech sector to resume their growth trajectory under a stronger regulatory regime.
The announcement follows a directive issued in April by the apex bank that put a pause on the onboarding of new customers by fintech establishments, a move that was widely viewed as a regulatory crackdown.
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Addressing the rationale behind the interruption, Cardoso dismissed any allegations of unfairly targeting fintech operations, stating that no specific punitive action was intended against them.
He highlighted the bank’s pride in the fintech industry’s achievements over the years and assured continuing support to strengthen, not destabilize, the ecosystem.
He further explained that rising concerns over unlawful financial flows, especially within less regulated banking systems, and issues highlighted by cryptocurrencies led the CBN to enhance surveillance in partnership with security agencies. This enhanced oversight aims to solidify regulations without derailing the sector’s operations.
Cardoso concluded by saying “I want to reiterate at this moment, no fintech licenses have been revoked.”
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