Customers Panic As CBN Bans Moniepoint, Opay, Kuda, Others

Some online microfinance banks have been barred by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from opening new accounts and accepting new customers.

It was gathered that the affected microfinance banks include Moniepoint, PalmPay, Opay, PiggyVest, and Kuda, among others.

Sources told Peoples Gazette on Monday that the move is over allegations that they were being used to funnel cryptocurrency and manipulate the naira’s value.

The sources asserted that the CBN deemed the new account ban necessary to curb money-laundering activities, which have seen the naira plunge against the dollar in recent days.

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However, in a message on its platform on Friday, Moniepoint said it has temporarily paused new sign-ups for intending customers.

It wrote: “Hello! We’ve temporarily paused new sign-ups on our platform.

“This means that you’ll be unable to open a new account at the moment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The naira, as of Monday evening, traded at N1,350 against the dollar, which is a regression against the steady climb that the Nigerian currency has made over the past few weeks as it traded to N950 in early April.

Following the drastic depreciation of the naira in February, which nearly exchanged at N2,000 to a dollar, CBN, in collaboration with the anti-graft agency (EFCC), cracked down on Binance and detained its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and British-Kenyan Najeem Anjarwalla, over accusations of naira manipulation.

The Nigerian government demanded that Binance release the names of its top 100 users and their transactions to negotiate the release of the detained executives.

Reactions From Customers

Some customers have taken to their social media handles to express their worries and opinions on the matter.

Some customers are anxious about the safety of their funds, with Warisenibo Jumbo suggesting it’s best to transfer their money out of Opay.

Oye Niran wondered if their Moniepoint account was safe, stating, “Hope my Moniepoint account is safe.”

Larry Leanz questioned the rationale for keeping money on these platforms.

“But is it still safe to keep money there?, Leanz questioned.