CBN Moves to Regulate Activities of Fintechs in Nigeria

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Steps are being taken to regulate the activities of Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) in Nigeria.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which regulates activities of financial institutions in the country, said very soon, it would release code of conducts for fintechs operating in the Africa’s largest market.

According to the Director of Banking and Payments System Department at the CBN, Mr Dipo Fatokun, the drafting of guidelines for operations of the sector was currently ongoing.

Speaking in Lagos at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Nigeria electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) with the theme ‘Tightening the BELT of E-fraud Prevention: a 4-sided approach,’ the CBN Director said the guidelines, when released, would address some issue of concerns in the financial sector.

“Because of the importance of these fintechs, CBN is drafting guidelines that would enable their regulation and supervision to be put in place,” he said.

“However, there is this fear, probably in some quarters that fintechs will take over the role of banks, but we believe that will not happen. Some activities will have to be ceded to these fintechs,” Mr Fatokun said at the event.

Commenting on why the forum was put in place, the CBN chief, who is also Chairman of NeFF, explained that it was to tighten the engagement of all stakeholders to increase knowledge and information sharing and deepen the payment system capacity for success in the fight against electronic fraud.

“The issue of stability, trust in the payment system is very close to the heart of the management of CBN, so each time the governors come together they discuss it and issue guidelines and that is a continuous process,” he stated.