The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed four fintech companies, namely OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint, to halt the onboarding of new customers until further notice.
Gatekeepers News reports that this directive comes after allegations of illicit foreign exchange transactions linked to these fintechs.
Two of the companies have confirmed to Nairametrics that the directive is related to these allegations. However, representatives from the affected companies have noted that the majority of the implicated accounts belong to commercial banks, not fintech platforms.
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently secured a court order to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts owned by various individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
Most of the bank accounts involved are deposit money bank accounts, and the EFCC has cited the need to preserve the funds in the identified bank accounts pending the conclusion of the investigation and possible prosecution. The other offences under investigation by the EFCC involve money laundering and terrorism financing.
A copy of the court order for the blockage of the accounts shows that most of the accounts involved in the alleged illegal forex trading were commercial bank accounts.
However, the banks have not been directed to stop onboarding new customers. This has raised concerns within the fintech industry, as they feel that the CBN is unfairly targeting fintechs, while the majority of the implicated accounts belong to commercial banks.
