In October, Nigeria’s House of Representatives began considering a bill that would create a unified regulatory body for fintechs in the country. The bill, if passed, would empower the Nigerian Fintech Regulatory Commission to license and dictate the terms of engagement for fintechs.

Fintechs have played a key role over the last decade in advancing the government’s financial inclusion goals. In that time, early movers like Interswitch and Paga built payment rails that drove large numbers of Nigerians to conduct transactions online, and in 2024, nearly a trillion dollars was processed digitally, according to NIBSS.

So far, fintechs have been regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), among others.

Some experts have rallied behind a unified regulator, noting that it could bring more regulatory clarity; others have pointed out that the existing agencies are fit for purpose. While the legislative process continues, fintechs must begin to prepare for a world where regulatory unification is the norm.

What a unified regulator means for fintech operations

Ideally, a unified regulatory body should go beyond simplifying oversight. Institutions will need to demonstrate stronger data governance, more rigorous auditability, and clearer processes for protecting consumers. Every transaction and every system interaction will be expected to meet a consistent standard, rather than navigating slightly different rules from multiple agencies.

Fintechs will be expected to implement robust systems for collecting, storing, and analysing data. Regulators will look for traceable audit trails, clear data lineage, and structured reporting. This means no ad hoc spreadsheets or scattered logs as every piece of information must be verifiable and easily accessible for audits. 

A unified regulator also typically enforces uniform standards for consumer protection. This includes transparent dispute resolution processes, fair handling of complaints, secure storage of sensitive customer data, and clear communication around fees or terms. Institutions will need to embed these principles into both product design and daily operations.

Connectivity and interoperability will also come under scrutiny. Fintechs will need to ensure that their systems can communicate reliably with payment switches, wallets, KYC/AML providers, credit bureaus, and other third-party services. For end users, this promises faster payments, fewer transaction failures, and more consistent access to services. 

For fintechs, it means structured workflows, traceable decision-making, and reduced operational friction. The upshot is clear: fintechs cannot treat regulatory compliance as optional or reactive. Institutions that invest in governance, audit-ready systems, consumer safeguards, and interoperable architecture today will be better positioned to navigate tomorrow’s unified framework, gain regulator confidence, and maintain a competitive edge in a more standardized market.

How fintechs can prepare for this future

While legislation is being finalised, fintechs can take proactive steps to meet these new expectations. 

Audit-ready data practices are essential. Fintechs must maintain clean, accessible databases with clear permission structures and query logs. Doing this will save both internal and external teams from headaches during reporting and inspections. 

Data lineage — tracking where data comes from, how it’s transformed, and where it’s used — is also critical, especially for compliance with consumer protection and anti-fraud requirements. To meet these expectations, institutions increasingly rely on platforms that offer structured, traceable data environments. Oradian, a core banking service provider, supports this need with governed read replicas and built-in query auditing, so teams can analyse and report on data without compromising production systems.

System architecture should also prioritise interoperability. A unified regulator will expect fintechs to integrate seamlessly with payment switches, wallets, KYC/AML providers, and other third-party services. API-first platforms, event-driven workflows, and versioned endpoints such as those provided by Oradian allow fintechs to plug into the broader ecosystem without constant re-engineering. This not only supports regulatory compliance but also allows fintechs to expand offerings faster.

Operational processes must be robust. Tighter regulatory expectations will extend to dispute resolution, service-level agreements, reporting cadence, and data retention policies. Fintechs should formalise workflows, implement maker–checker approval processes, and maintain transparent audit trails. Real-time dashboards and compliance report templates, like those offered by Oradian, give teams visibility into operations, highlight potential issues early, and make it easier to demonstrate adherence to regulators’ standards.

Finally, as regulatory standards stabilise, speed and compliance will become competitive differentiators. Fintechs that can pilot new products rapidly, maintain clear separation between test and production environments, and scale confidently on cloud-native infrastructure will pull ahead. Tools that allow automated reporting, compliance monitoring, and robust system logs enable teams to innovate without risking regulatory setbacks, ensuring that new offerings can be launched both quickly and safely.

Oradian helps fintechs stay proactive

Oradian’s API-first core banking solution is built for scale and regulatory compliance in emerging markets, working with some of Nigeria’s largest fintechs from FairMoney and UMBA in Nigeria to Salmon Bank and Esquire Financing in the Philippines. 

Its architecture ensures that fintechs can plug directly into payment switches, KYC/AML providers, credit bureaus, wallets, and any third-party service provider a fintech needs. Furthermore, its clean, versioned endpoints and event-driven webhooks remove the friction of constant re-engineering and ease interoperability.

On the data front, Oradian’s database access capability gives institutions governed read replicas, role-based permissions, and query auditing, enabling faster reporting and safer analytics without putting production systems at risk. For compliance teams, that translates to more confidence during audits. 

Operationally, fintechs should expect tighter requirements around logs, SLAs, dispute handling, and data retention. Oradian is built for this with the platform providing audit trails, maker–checker workflows, permissioning layers, real-time dashboards, and compliance report templates. 

As standards stabilise, institutions that can ship fully compliant products quickly will pull ahead. Oradian enables teams to pilot offerings in weeks, maintain separation between test and production environments, and scale confidently on cloud-native infrastructure.