Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to strengthen regulation of its booming financial technology (Fintech) sector have suffered a major setback as leading operators failed to appear before a key legislative committee.
According to a report by Arise News on Wednesday, October 7, 2025, Hon. Olufemi Bamisile, Chairman of the House Ad-Hoc Committee on Fintech Regulation, disclosed that top companies, including Moniepoint, Opay, and Kuda, ignored official invitations to regulatory hearings.
Bamisile said the committee’s attempts to reach the firms through formal communication channels were unsuccessful. “We invited Moniepoint, Opay, and Kuda, but their mails bounced back, and they didn’t show up,” he lamented, describing the situation as both troubling and unacceptable.
The lawmaker expressed concern over the growing disconnect between Nigeria’s regulatory institutions and major players in the digital finance industry—firms that collectively process billions of naira in daily transactions.
He further highlighted the opacity surrounding the ownership and operational structures of some Fintech platforms, warning that the lack of transparency could pose serious risks to national security and data protection.
Citing Opay as a notable example, Bamisile revealed that the platform’s ownership is largely based outside Nigeria. “Most of these regulating agencies don’t know where these operators are. We found out the owner of Opay is in China, and it is worrisome,” he said.
The development underscores the urgent need for tighter oversight and clearer disclosure requirements in Nigeria’s Fintech ecosystem, which has rapidly grown to become one of the largest in Africa.
If unaddressed, lawmakers warn, the lack of accountability and regulatory compliance among key operators could undermine public trust and expose the country’s financial system to systemic risks.
