- OPay has revealed plans to block customers' accounts that do not meet KYC requirements beginning in March 2024.
- At a press conference, the fintech announced this and mentioned that it would be removing fraudulent accounts from its platform.
- OPay shared that this development is required to improve the platform's security to protect customers' deposits from fraudulent individuals in light of reported cases of impersonation and fraudulent activities.
In response to a video making the rounds on social media, OPay revealed on January 17, 2024, that internal inquiries were underway. In the video, a customer expressed concern about the alleged fraudulent use of her personal information.
Furthermore, Techpoint Africa reported how fraudsters exploit fintech loopholes to hijack identities, focusing on high-profile figures such as Adewale Yusuf of AltSchool Africa and Techpoint Africa.
Following the story, OPay initiated the enforcement of bank verification number (BVN) and national identity number (NIN) requirements for wallet opening.
Director of Partnerships at OPay, Ikponmwosa Kolawole Odiase, confirmed that the fintech will remove phoney accounts from the system. In his words, “So many fictitious accounts will definitely go.”
He explained that the company intends to deploy a system that involves backend verification of customers' facials with BVNs and NIN to address the issues encountered during facial verification on the platform.
Olayemi Precilia, Director of the Cards Division, verified that the platform's security measures have been updated, requiring new users to open accounts using their national identity number (NIN).
According to her, “When you log into your app, and you have a tier one account, and you don’t have your NIN, it will ask for your NIN. You cannot move forward without inputting that NIN. So, that is one of the things we’ve already done.”
Just two days ago, OPay announced a partnership with Interswitch as part of its efforts to address these issues. With the Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG), the partnership seeks to reduce transaction friction by offering consumers a safe and easy way to make payments.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced in December 2023 that bank accounts without a BVN or NIN would be frozen by April 2024 to "promote financial system stability and strengthen Know Your Customer procedures in all financial institutions."
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