20/03/2026
It is no news that there has been a rise in the use of fintech apps like Opay, Palmpay, Monie point, Kuda, and so on in Nigeria, as these companies report tens of millions of active users each.
These fintech companies, which are companies that utilize technology to provide financial services, have grown in their use by Nigerians and currently, there are over 200 operating fintech firms.
This is not a surprise, as Nigeria’s increased mobile and internet usage, especially for financial transactions has grown exponentially, thereby contributing to the fintech’s sector growth.
Before their rise, entrepreneurs and individuals struggled to access reliable financial services easily, and now, other than easier access to digital financial services, they also significantly impact the nation’s employment and economic growth, as Akeem Lawal, the Managing Director of Interswitch Purepay, noted that in 2022, the fintech industry had created over 20,000 jobs and supported over 530,000 businesses in Nigeria.
However, these fintech companies, which provide specialized, rapid, and digital-only financial services, are still not the traditional commercial banks that many have grown to trust and rely on over the years, as they are more tangible, more regulated, and they provide a larger and more secure rage of banking services.
The CBN, recognizing this, made a strategic move in January 2026, wherein Yemi Solaja, the Director of the Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department at the CBN, during the Annual Committee of Heads of Banks’ Operating Conference in Lagos, announced that the licenses of major fintechs and microfinance banks like Opay, Palmpay, Moniepoint, Kuda, Paga, and others have been upgraded from a state or regional level to a national level.
He stated that many of these digital lenders and payment platforms had expanded far beyond their original license scopes, prompting the CBN to upgrade their licenses to better reflect their nationwide reach.
