CBN grants national licences to major FinTechs, MFBs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has upgraded the licences of selected FinTechs and microfinance banks (MFBs) operating nationwide to national status, as part of efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight.

The disclosure was made by Yemi Solaja, Director of the Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department at the CBN, during the annual conference of the Committee of Heads of Banks’ Operations (CHBOs) held in Lagos.

According to Solaja, the move responds to a growing mismatch between the limited licences held by some institutions and the scale of their actual operations across the country. He said several digital financial service providers had expanded far beyond the geographic scope permitted by their original approvals.

“Institutions like Moniepoint MFB, Opay, Kuda Bank and others have already been upgraded,” Solaja said. “In reality, their activities are now all over the country.”

He added that many of their customers operate in the informal sector, making clarity around regulatory responsibility essential. “Most of their customers are informal people. They need to know where to report to when there is a problem,” he said.

Solaja stressed that the upgrade process was not automatic. He said national licences were granted only after institutions met key regulatory and supervisory requirements. At the conference, he also called for closer collaboration between commercial banks and FinTechs to reduce cash circulating outside the formal banking system and to accelerate the adoption of digital-first banking models.

Nigeria’s FinTechs and tech-driven MFBs have expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by mobile technology and agent banking networks. Many were initially licensed under unit or state-level frameworks, which restricted their operations to specific locations. Despite these limits, platforms such as Kuda Bank, Opay, Moniepoint and PalmPay built nationwide customer bases, creating regulatory gaps.

The CBN said aligning licences with actual operations would help manage systemic risks and improve consumer protection. The regulator also noted that nationally licensed FinTechs and MFBs are expected to maintain physical touchpoints in key areas, despite their digital focus. These locations help resolve disputes and support customers who require face-to-face engagement.

With national licences, institutions are now subject to higher capital and compliance requirements. National MFBs must meet a minimum capital base of N5 billion, up from N2 billion. The move signals the CBN’s broader push to formalise digital finance, deepen financial inclusion, and strengthen trust in Nigeria’s financial system.