The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is currently drafting guidelines that would enable the regulation and supervision of the activities of Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) in Nigeria
Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, disclosed this yesterday, in Lagos, during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Nigeria electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) with the theme, “Tightening the BELT of E-fraud Prevention: a 4-sided approach”. Explaining the role of CBN in regulating the activities of FinTechs, Fatokun allayed the fear in some quarters that FinTechs would take over the role of banks. He stated: “There is this fear, probably in some quarters, which FinTechs will take over the role of banks, but we believe that will not happen. Some activities will have to be ceded to these FinTechs. “Because of the importance of these FinTechs, CBN is drafting guidelines that would enable their regulation and supervision to be put in place.” Fatokun, who is also the Chairman of NeFF, reiterated the aim of the Forum to tighten the engagement of all stakeholders to increase knowledge and information sharing and deepen the payment system capacity for success in the fight against electronic fraud. “The issue of stability, trust in the payment system is very close to the heart of the management of CBN, so each time the governors come together they discuss it and issue guidelines and that is a continuous process,” he stated. On his part, Deputy Governor Operations, CBN, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, represented by Director, Other Financial Institutions Department (OFID), noted that even though technology in the industry is just improving, collaboration in the financial industry has improved. “Collaboration is much better than before. All the industry players have now realized that unless we work together, unless there is a consented effort together, there is really no way we are going to overcome this menace. “The Forum’s role has contributed to year-on-year (YoY) deduction in actual losses from e-fraud, as reported in the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS.”
