In the wake of a regulatory ban on new customer onboarding by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), prominent Nigerian fintechs—Kuda Bank, Moniepoint, OPay, and PalmPay—have increased compliance and fraud-monitoring hires, with seasoned talent joining from major commercial banks and other fintech players.
Since the CBN ban in April, Moniepoint alone has brought on board five new team members for transaction monitoring, including two former OPay employees with extensive fintech experience and a former Flutterwave hire. Additionally, Moniepoint recruited a compliance team lead with over ten years in Nigerian banking, adding to their fraud and compliance unit, which has expanded significantly this year. Kuda, meanwhile, hired three compliance analysts, an Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme compliance manager, and two fraud experts, reinforcing its commitment to regulatory adherence. OPay and PalmPay followed suit, adding members to their legal and compliance departments, including a senior manager with substantial banking expertise.
This marks a departure from the fintech industry’s previous approach, where compliance was often viewed as a barrier to growth. Before regulatory pressures mounted, many fintechs leaned towards minimal compliance staffing, and KYC protocols for onboarding were more relaxed to attract customers faster. However, new regulatory guidelines introduced in December 2023 and the onboarding ban in April have transformed the landscape. Fintechs are now required to strengthen transaction monitoring, enforce more rigorous customer management solutions, and adopt strict KYC protocols for all account tiers to resume onboarding activities.
One industry insider revealed that the expanded compliance hiring aligns with CBN’s tougher stance, emphasizing that fintechs now need to demonstrate stronger oversight to resume operations fully. “Compliance has always been essential to our financial inclusion goals,” they noted, highlighting that with Nigeria’s evolving regulatory environment under the new government in 2024, heightened scrutiny was anticipated.
With the rapid rise of fintech platforms in Nigeria, concerns about insufficient KYC standards and perceived facilitation of fraudulent activities had drawn criticism. Moniepoint’s CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda, acknowledged in May that the National Security Agency (NSA) flagged issues with the speed of account openings on fintech platforms, specifically the ease of setting up Tier 3 accounts. “They were worried about the pace and asked us to halt onboarding,” Eniolorunda said.
These new hires reflect an industry-wide commitment to enhance regulatory compliance and address potential fraud. Compliance teams will play a crucial role in ensuring fintechs meet CBN standards, with ongoing transaction monitoring requiring around-the-clock vigilance. An industry source commented, “The CBN expects fintechs to be more compliant, and meeting this demand means hiring more talent to manage and monitor transactions consistently.”
For many fintechs, investor concerns have also fueled the demand for compliance personnel, as they seek to maintain regulatory stability and safeguard investments. Whether these efforts will be sufficient to curb fraud in Nigeria’s booming fintech sector remains to be seen.
