By
Habeeb Ibrahim
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told four fintech companies Kuda Bank, Moniepoint, OPay, and Palmpay to stop accepting new customers for now.
This comes after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) blocked 1,146 bank accounts involved in illegal forex deals, according to a report by TechCabal.
The CBN’s move is linked to a review of the fintechs’ customer verification processes. Last year, Fidelity Bank stopped transfers to these fintechs due to concerns about weak verification processes leading to fraud. The CBN then shared new rules for all financial institutions to follow.
The affected fintechs have paused new account openings, but existing customers can still use their services. The CBN’s directive is seen as a temporary measure to address concerns around fraud and illegal forex deals.
“We’ve temporarily paused new signups on our platform. This means that you’ll be unable to open a new account at the moment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause,” read a notice on the website of a prominent fintech startup.
Industry insiders believe the CBN wants to regulate the fintech space, which has grown rapidly in recent years.
