In a continuation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) increased scrutiny of fintech startups, two of the country’s most prominent unicorns, Moniepoint and OPay, were fined ₦1 billion each in the second quarter of 2024, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told TechCabal. While several other fintech companies were also penalized, the two firms were the hardest hit.
The penalties followed a routine CBN audit of the fintech sector, which revealed compliance issues. According to two sources familiar with the process, these regulatory checks are a standard procedure for banks and financial institutions under CBN oversight.
At least four other fintech companies were similarly penalized, though the details of these fines remain unknown.
The CBN has increasingly relied on fines to enforce regulatory compliance. In 2023, Nigerian banks paid a combined ₦678 million in penalties. In October 2024, the central bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed a ₦15 billion fine on ten commercial banks, including Zenith and GTBank, for various infractions in the first half of the year.
Until recently, Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech sector largely operated without CBN interference. However, the rapid expansion of fintechs like OPay and Moniepoint, which now serve millions of users, has invited greater scrutiny. OPay, for instance, claims a customer base of around 40 million, while Moniepoint, which processed 5.2 billion transactions in 2023, does not disclose specific customer numbers but is similarly large.
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