The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that mobile money operators, including fintech firms like Opay, Palmpay, Kuda and Moniepoint Microfinance Banks will resume enrolling new customers in a couple of months from now.
The disclosure was made by CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, at the end of 295th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the apex Bank in Abuja on Tuesday.
Olayemi said the CBN has engaged many of the players on the need to strengthen their operations. He said that in a bid to block money laundering and illicit flows, CBN brought up measures that will tighten the sector up on both new and existing client base.
He said, “I am confident that as time goes on, and hopefully in another couple of months, all these will be something of the past and then you will see the sector going back into what they’ve been known to do before, but certainly with a very stronger regulatory framework.”
When asked the reason why CBN stopped the onboarding of new customers into fintech in April, Cardoso said reports that the apex Bank has decided to clamp down on fintech firms were “furthest from the truth”.
“The fintechs have not been singled out for any exceptional kind of treatment,” he reiterated.
He added that CBN was proud of the fintech firms and their exploits in the previous years, assuring that CBN would continue to support them amidst regulations and surveillance.
“Regulation is very critical in a sector that seems to have grown so incredibly rapidly.
“Most recently, we had cause to take a deep dive look at the whole issue of illicit flows and money laundering particularly within the non-heavy regulated banking system and we all know some of the issues that came out with cryptos and some of the messages we put out after that,” Cardoso stated.
