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By Emmanuel Adeleke
Some bank customers have expressed concern over the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive preventing mobile money operators including fintech firms from onboarding new customers.
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 about money laundering and terrorism financing.
It was gathered that the CBN had last week summoned some of the heads of fintechs to Abuja to discuss issues around KYC.
However, CBN has not yet publicly commented on the directive to the fintech firms.
The directive coincided with a court order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to freeze 1,146 bank accounts owned by various individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
The new CBN directive will affect fintech companies such as OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank and Moniepoint, from opening new accounts until further notice.
