Nigeria: Regulatory reforms to bolster fintech ecosystem – PalmPay CEO

The Managing Director of PalmPay, Mr. Chika Nwosu, has emphasized that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulatory policies for fintechs are designed to enhance and restructure the entire fintech ecosystem.

He highlighted the rapid growth of fintechs in Nigeria over a short period, pointing out that the government and regulators are working to establish proper regulations that will benefit the fintech industry, the government, and the people.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and National Security Adviser barred the payment service banks from onboarding new customers because of their challenge with meeting scrutiny regarding Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and preventing fraud.

However, Nwosu disclosed that PSB operators had met with various stakeholders, including the CBN, EFCC, etc. and had they identified grey areas that fintechs need to implement.

Nwosu declared, “If PalmPay resolves these issues today, and they can immediately start onboarding new customers. There are no limitations; once the grey areas are addressed, they will be able to bring in new customers.

“Currently, none of the fintechs have finished the process and are thus unable to onboard customers, although this circumstance doesn’t disrupt our daily operations.”

Nigerian payment service banks Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, Kuda, and Paga—have been unable to onboard new customers for the past month.