Opay, Moniepoint, and other fintech banks to start onboarding new customers in a few months – CBN says.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that Palmpay, Opay, Moniepoint, and other fintech banks will start taking new customers in a few months.

This notice was brought by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, who announced this on Tuesday when the interestest rate was hacked from 24.75 per cent to 26.25 per cent at the 295th Monetary Policy Committee ( MPC) in Abuja.

Cardoso said that CBN had engaged many customers to strengthen their operations.

This idea is aimed at blocking money laundering and illegal flow, hence the remedial measure that will help Fintech banks to handle their onboard and Even existing clients.

“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 that sector going back into what they’ve been known to do before, but certainly with a very stronger regulatory framework,” he said.

Recall that the CBN in Apirl stopped Fintech companies from onboarding new customers. This idea generally clamps down on the financial subsector.

When Cardose was questioned about this decision, he admitted that it wasn’t a decision to clamp down on Fintech.He said, “The fintechs have not been singled out for any exceptional kind of treatment.” He also added that the CBN is proud of the success of fintech firms in the past few years and will always support them.

“However, regulation is critical in a sector that seems to have grown so incredibly rapidly,” Cardoso said, citing illicit flows within the sub-sector.

“More recently, we had the course 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, which of course, gave us some course to know that there is the need for heightened surveillance.”

He also said that the CBN has had an agreement with security agencies to recognize the places to put more regulation and surveillance.

Cardoso said, “For that reason, we were concerned with respect to how we saw the issue of anti-money laundering and illicit flows as they made their way within the various sub-sectors of the financial industry, and we felt there was a need for us to take a breather and work with different players to strengthen regulations, not by any means to throw them out of business.

“Let me re-emphasise that at this point in time, we have not revoked the licenses of any fintech organisations.”