OPay, Kuda resume onboarding of new customers as CBN lifts restriction

Financial technology (Fintech) companies have resumed onboarding new customers.

In separate statements on Monday, OPay and Kuda Microfinance Bank announced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has authorised them to start enrolling users.

On April 29, CBN directed fintech companies to pause enrollment of new customers.

This followed the federal government’s effort to address illicit foreign exchange transactions in the country as well as operations of Binance and other cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

In a ruling delivered on April 24, a federal high court in Abuja granted an interim order to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts belonging to individuals and companies over “unauthorised foreign exchange” transactions.

An analysis of the 1,146 accounts blocked by the EFCC shows 90 percent of the accounts affected are operated by commercial banks, while 10 percent are operated by fintechs.

FINTECHS TO ADHERE TO CBN REQUIREMENTS

OPay said it will strictly follow the approved know your customer (KYC) verification procedures and urged its customers to ensure that they complete the verification process for all accounts and meet all requirements.

“We are thrilled to announce that the Central Bank of Nigeria has given OPay the thumbs up to resume onboarding new users,” OPay said.

“This milestone highlights our dedication to following the rules, keeping your information safe and secure, and preventing any shady activities.

“Furthermore, it is imperative to reiterate that OPay strictly adheres to the approved KYC verification processes and urges our esteemed customers to ensure that the due verification process is followed for all accounts and all requirements are completely fulfilled.

“We thank all our amazing customers for your understanding, support, patience and vote of confidence during this time as we navigated carefully thought-through and essential requirements set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Our mission remains the same: to make financial services more inclusive through technology, make transactions a breeze, and provide a hassle-free payment experience for all Nigerians. And, we’re not stopping there! Keep an eye out for new and exciting features on the OPay app.”

Similarly, Kuda Bank announced it will resume registering new customers this week.

Kuda said the company has been working with the CBN to fulfil recent regulatory requirements by putting more account controls in place.

“As you probably already know, we’ve been working with the CBN to meet recent regulatory requirements by putting more account controls in place,” Kuda said.

“Based on the work we’ve done, we’ll resume signing up new customers this week.”

Kuda said customers’ national identification number (NIN), bank verification number (BVN) and proof of address — followed by address verification — are required to open a tier 3 account.