These penalties, stemming from routine audits of the fintech sector, highlight increasing scrutiny on the country’s rapidly expanding digital financial services industry.
The CBN’s audits identified compliance violations, prompting sanctions not only against Moniepoint and OPay but also against at least four other fintech companies. While details of the additional fines remain undisclosed, Moniepoint and OPay faced the heaviest penalties, underscoring the regulator's focus on the sector's largest players.
Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, which has flourished in recent years with minimal regulatory interference, has come under greater examination as platforms like OPay and Moniepoint gain significant market influence. OPay reports a customer base of approximately 40 million users, while Moniepoint handled 5.2 billion transactions in 2023. Despite their scale, these companies operate under microfinance bank licences, a framework designed for smaller financial institutions serving SMEs.
The rapid growth of these fintechs has raised questions about whether the existing licencing regime is sufficient to protect customers and ensure compliance with financial regulations. The CBN has emphasized the importance of addressing these gaps to maintain the integrity of the financial system.
In addition to licencing concerns, the CBN has targeted lapses in KYC compliance within the fintech sector. Earlier in 2024, the regulator imposed a two-month suspension on customer onboarding for several firms, including Kuda Bank and Palmpay, citing deficiencies in KYC processes. The suspension compelled fintechs to improve their onboarding frameworks and compliance measures.
The penalties against Moniepoint and OPay are part of a broader trend of stricter enforcement by the CBN. In 2023, Nigerian banks paid a cumulative USD 429.845 in fines for various infractions. More recently, in October 2024, the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued 9 million in fines to ten commercial banks, including Zenith Bank and GTBank, for regulatory breaches.
While Moniepoint has declined to comment on the fines, OPay has publicly denied the allegations, calling reports of the penalty entirely false. The CBN has not issued an official response to queries regarding the fines.
As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, fintech companies in Nigeria are expected to face increased pressure to align their operations with stricter compliance standards. This trend reflects the CBN’s commitment to balancing the sector’s growth with the need for a robust regulatory framework.
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