Opay and Palmpay Respond to Banks’ Ban on 32 Firms from Fund Transfers
Opay and Palmpay have responded to a ban by banks on 32 financial companies, stopping them from transferring funds.
- NIBSS told banks to stop using non-deposit payment services for sending money.
- This decision was made because of worries about these financial firms holding onto customer money.
- 32 financial businesses are involved. Companies like Paga and OPay said they are officially Mobile Money Operators.
Chinedu, a journalist at voiceofnigeria.org.ng, has more than ten years of experience in Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy reporting.
Nigeria’s Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) recently told banks to remove non-deposit payment services from the instant payment transfer system.
NIBSS issued this instruction on December 7, 2023, in a notice signed by Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, their executive director.
In the notice, NIBSS said this move is to handle regulatory concerns about financial institutions not allowed to hold customer funds.
But, these financial companies can still receive money.
What financial institutions does the NIBSS order affect? They include Switching Companies, Payment Solution Service Providers, and Super Agents.
NIBSS warned banks that allowing these institutions on their transfer channels goes against Central Bank of Nigeria’s rules from February 2014.
To be clear, these companies can send money to banks but can’t hold customer funds because of their licenses.
Therefore, banks should remove these companies from their transfer systems for sending money out, but not for receiving money.
After the announcement, names like Kuda and Opay were mentioned as being affected.
Companies like Palmpay and PiggyVest were also said to be impacted.
These fintechs have denied these claims in different press releases.
Paga’s CEO Tayo Ovioso said on X that reports claiming Paga was affected by the ban on transfers to PSSPs were incorrect.
Paga, a licensed Mobile Money Operator, can hold deposits, unlike PSSPs.
Paga is not on the affected list.
Opay also told its customers it’s not under this restriction.
In a statement on X, Opay said it’s not impacted by the NIBSS circular. They are a Mobile Money Operator licensed by CBN and insured by NDIC.
Palmpay also asked people to ignore false information about the NIBSS notice.
Here’s a complete list of companies banned from electronic transfers by NIBSS: [List of companies]
Earlier, voiceofnigeria.org.ng reported that President Bola Tinubu’s aide, Dada Olusegun, said reports about NIBSS planning to delist money transfer banks like Opay and Kuda are false.
On December 7, the aide tweeted that the report is untrue and asked the public not to spread it to avoid panic and harm to businesses.
List of affected companies:
- Xpress payments
- Accelerex Network
- Itex Integrated Services Limited
- Innovectives
- Kesh
- Flutterwave Technology Solutions Limited
- Interswitch Limited
- First Apple Limited
- 3Line Card Management Limited
- Paystack Payments Limited
- Team Apt
- Kadick Integration Limited
- Venture Garden Nigeria Limited
- Arca Payments Company Limited
- QR Payments Cyberspace Limited
- Vas2nets Limited
- CrowdForce Microsystems Investment and Development Limited
- Bud Infrastructure Limited
- Koraypay
- Capricorn Digital NetApps Technology Limited
- SPay Business
- Yello Digital Financial Services
- Nomba Financial Services Limited
- Woven Finance
- Paysure Technologies Limited
- Leadremit Limited
- Habaripay
- Irofit Technologies Limited
- Nip Virtual Bank
- NibssUSSD Payments
Fake news alert:
- Ignore reports claiming NIBSS will delist Opay, Moniepoint, Kuda, etc.
- This is false information and could cause panic and harm businesses.
