Does CBN banned OPay and PalmPay in Nigeria?
No, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) didn't completely blocked OPay, PalmPay, Kuda, Moniepoint and others in Nigeria. The apex bank partially banned these fintech companies from onboarding new customers. According to CBN, the reason behind the ban is not limited to the fact that those fintech accounts are being used for Foreign Exchange transactions which by the CBN manipulate the FX market and cause the free fall of Naira against the US dollar. Now, these fintechs directors are saying the CBN's directives might be misdirected. They cited that the majority of the implicated accounts that involves in the FX manipulations belong to commercial banks rather than fintech platforms. I can confirm that 90% of the accounts implicated in the illicit forex transactions are with commercial banks, and only 10% are with fintechs. Why then has the CBN not extended this directive to the commercial banks? We face a widespread issue here, and targeting fintechs seems like an unfair focus on the …
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Founded Mainwave Digital Media, Temmy Samuel is a financial advisor and journalist, blending financial expertise with storytelling skills to simplify complex financial topics for readers and clients alike. Learn More About Temmy Samuel