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The Central Bank of Nigeria has upgraded the licences of selected financial technology companies and microfinance banks with nationwide operations, signalling a regulatory push to bring fast-growing digital lenders into closer alignment with their actual scale.
The bank’s director of the CBN’s Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Yemi Solaja disclosed the move at the annual conference of the Committee of Heads of Banks’ Operations in Lagos on 23 January.
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It said several firms were operating far beyond the limits of their original licences.
He said there was a growing mismatch between the licences some institutions held and the reality of their operations.
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“Institutions like Moniepoint MFB, Opay, Kuda Bank and others have already been upgraded. In reality, their activities are now all over the country,” Nairametrics quoted Mr Solaja as saying.
He also said many of the customers served by digital lenders operate in the informal economy, raising concerns about accountability and consumer protection.
“Most of their customers are informal people. They need to know where to report to when there is a problem,” he added.
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Nigeria’s FinTech sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by mobile banking, agent networks and limited access to traditional banking services.
Many operators were originally licensed under unit or state-level frameworks, which restricted their geographical reach.
Despite this, several platforms built nationwide customer bases, creating what regulators viewed as a widening gap between licence scope and operational reality.
The CBN said national licences would only be granted after firms met stricter regulatory benchmarks, including higher capital and compliance standards.
National microfinance banks are now required to hold a minimum capital base of N5bn, compared with N2bn previously.
The regulator also used the forum to push for closer collaboration between commercial banks and FinTechs, particularly to reduce the volume of cash circulating outside the formal banking system.
Mr Solaja urged banks to adopt “digital-first” operating models, reflecting shifts in consumer behaviour.
Despite their digital focus, the CBN stressed that nationally licensed FinTechs and microfinance banks must maintain a physical presence in key locations. It said branches remain important for dispute resolution and for serving informal customers who prefer face-to-face engagement.
ALSO READ: CBN sets N2 billion as capital requirement for fintechs
The move comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of Nigeria’s digital finance sector. In 2024, the CBN fined Moniepoint and Opay N1 billion each for breaches of know-your-customer rules, underlining its tougher stance on compliance with customer due diligence regulations.
The platforms have gained wide acceptance among Nigerians in recent years, helped by easier account opening, lower transaction costs and more reliable digital services than many traditional banks.
The licence upgrades reflect an attempt by the CBN to formalise the role of large digital lenders in Nigeria’s financial system, using their reach to deepen financial inclusion while tightening oversight in a sector that has grown faster than regulation.
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