JUST IN: CBN Fines Moniepoint and OPay N2 Billion Over Regulatory Breaches

In a continued effort to tighten oversight of Nigeria’s fintech sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fined leading companies Moniepoint and OPay a combined total of N2 billion (N1 billion each). The penalties stem from a routine CBN audit that identified compliance issues within these firms.

The fines follow a pattern of increasing regulatory scrutiny of fintech companies, with OPay and Moniepoint being the most heavily affected. The CBN has been using fines as a tool to enforce compliance across the financial sector, as part of its broader effort to ensure transparency and security in Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech space.

This comes after a similar crackdown in 2023 when Nigerian banks paid a combined N678 million in penalties for various infractions. The growth of companies like OPay, which boasts a customer base of around 40 million, and Moniepoint, which processed 5.2 billion transactions in 2023, has prompted concerns about their adherence to regulations, particularly regarding the adequacy of microfinance bank licenses under which many fintechs operate.

The CBN’s enforcement efforts also include a two-month ban on onboarding new customers for certain fintechs earlier in 2024, due to violations of Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.

While Moniepoint has declined to comment, OPay has denied the claims, calling them “entirely false.” The CBN has not yet responded to the requests for comment.