CBN clears OPay, Kuda and others to start opening accounts for new customers

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The Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted its ban on OPay, Moniepoint, Kuda, Palmpay, and Paga, clearing the best way for the fintechs to renew onboarding new clients.

This comes about 5 weeks after the apex financial institution stopped the fintechs from onboarding new clients over issues that their accounts have been getting used for illicit international trade transactions. 

Whereas the CBN has not issued any official assertion relating to that, two of the affected fintechs, OPay and Kuda confirmed the event in separate messages to their clients on Monday.  

Asserting the event by way of a submit on its X deal with, OPay mentioned; “We’re thrilled to announce that the Central Financial institution of Nigeria has given OPay the thumbs as much as resume onboarding new customers. This milestone highlights our dedication to following the principles, holding your info protected and safe, and stopping any shady actions.”

In opposition to the backdrop of the issues expressed by the apex financial institution resulting in the ban, OPay reiterated that it strictly adheres to the authorized KYC verification processes and urged its clients to make sure that the due verification course of is adopted for all accounts and all necessities are fully fulfilled.

Kuda additionally took to the social media platform to share the information with its clients and followers saying; As you in all probability already know, we’ve been working with the CBN to satisfy latest regulatory necessities by placing extra account controls in place.

“Based mostly on the work we’ve finished, we’ll resume signing up new clients this week. Please, observe that you just’ll want your BVN, NIN, and your proof of deal with (adopted by deal with verification) to open a Tier 3 account.”

On April 29, the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) issued a directive to 5 fintech firms, ordering them to halt the onboarding of latest clients. This transfer got here shortly after 1,146 accounts have been blocked on account of peer-to-peer crypto buying and selling actions.

Nevertheless, the fintech firms pushed again, arguing that the directive could also be misdirected, as the vast majority of the implicated accounts belong to industrial banks, quite than fintech platforms.

The Nationwide Safety Adviser (NSA) has additionally categorised crypto as a safety concern and is looking for to have the fintech firms strengthen their Know Your Buyer (KYC) and fraud prevention measures to forestall crypto transactions from being processed by way of their platforms.

The fintech firms have been introduced with a set of circumstances on Might 20, 2024, which should be met for the onboarding freeze to be lifted. These circumstances embody blocking peer-to-peer crypto transfers, implementing bodily deal with verification for all account tiers, and updating facial verification programs for patrons.

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