The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted its ban on onboarding new customers imposed on five leading fintech startups: Paga, OPay, Kuda, Palmpay, and Moniepoint.
This decision is effective immediately.
Opay announced the news on Monday through its official X handle, stating, “We are thrilled to announce that the Central Bank of Nigeria has given OPay the thumbs up to resume onboarding new users.”
This development follows the expiration of the May 31 deadline given to the fintechs to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) and other regulatory requirements.
Governor of CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, had previously indicated, at the end of the 295th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, that the ban on the fintech banks would be lifted soon.
Cardoso clarified that the central bank had not revoked any licenses of these fintech banks.
The initial restriction, imposed on April 30, was due to allegations that the fintechs were being used for illicit foreign exchange transactions.
The lifting of the ban allows these fintech companies to resume their operations and continue expanding their customer base.
