The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has ban mobile money operators including fintech firms from onboarding new customers with a nod from the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria.
The new directive will affect fintech companies such as OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint, from opening new accounts until further notice.
The CBN’s move was linked to an ongoing audit of the Know-Your-Customer process of the fintechs, which have been under scrutiny in recent months over concerns around money laundering and terrorism financing.
It was gathered that the CBN had summoned some of the heads of fintechs to Abuja to discuss issues around KYC last week.
Also, the directive coincided with the court order that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, obtained to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts owned by various individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion, moved by counsel for the anti-graft agency, Ekele Iheanacho, also granted the commission’s application to conclude the investigation within 90 days.
Part of the court document read, “That the applicant’s (EFCC) application is hereby granted as prayed.
“That an order of this honorable court is hereby made freezing the bank accounts stated in the schedule below, which accounts are owned by various individuals who are currently being investigated in a case involving the offenses of unauthorised dealing in foreign exchange, money laundering, and terrorism financing, to the extent that the investigation will be for a period of 90 (ninety) days.”
The President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Uju Ogubunka, backed the CBN’s move to suspend new account opening on the affected platforms.
He said, “Anything that can disrupt the system should not be permitted. If the platforms are being used for things that are against the regulations, I think the CBN decision is OK. I don’t see anything wrong with that. It behooves on the companies now to get their KYC right.
“Let them do what they are supposed to do. KYC applies to banks and other financial institutions that deposit money. It should also apply to them so that the regulators can understand what is going on and hold them accountable.”
The CBN has an ambitious target to increase overall financial inclusion to 95 per cent of the adult population by 2024.
With the new order, the target may be affected, as the company processes about 100 new accounts every day.
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