Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has said that all financial technology operators (Fintechs) must register with the commission before July 7, 2024, noting that operating without registration is a crime according to the provisions of the law.

Hussaini Magaji (SAN), registrar general of the Commissio, stated this at the inauguration for the centre for bulk registration of Point of Sale (PoS) operators on Wednesday.

Magaji said, “It is the requirement of the law and the guidelines which Fintechs mandate PoS operators while obtaining their machines as outlined by the CBN to register with the CAC. Therefore, operating a PoS without registering with the CAC is a crime in Nigeria and the operator ought to be jailed.

“CAC on our part are enforcing the provisions of the law which mandates every legitimate business to register with the commission either as individual, business or merchant, and the PoS operators must register, and what we are doing now is to enforce parts of the provisions of the Companies and Alllied Matters Act (CAMA).”

Speaking further, he said, “CAC was asked to penalise PoS operators who are operating without registration with a N200 form. But because of the president’s position on encouraging small businesses, we agreed that no one should be penalized, which is why we have put a time limit on a date because we have had this sensitisation since December, and by July 7, 2024, we hope to close.”

Magaji added that the registration of all POS merchants and agents across the country would go a long way in reducing crime in the country.

He said, “We have a situation where ransom is paid with POS terminals, so with the registration, we will bring out the people whose machines were used to perpetrate the crime, because the CAC will capture all your information.”

He further noted that the registration centre would be open for 24 hours for Fintechs that might want to register manually, adding that the CAC had already created a structure for the Fintechs on the commission’s portal for ease of registration, where the certificate would be automatically generated and sent to their platform. CAC Opens Centre for Registration of PoS Operators

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the list of licenced Deposit Money Banks operating in the country.

Providing insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria, the list was made public on the CBN’s official website.

Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.

Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Premium Trust Bank Limited and Optimus Bank Limited.

Commercial banks with regional licences are Providus Bank Limited, Parallex Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Signature Bank Limited.

Players in the non-interest banking sector with national authorisation include Jaiz Bank Plc, Taj Bank Limited, Lotus Bank Limited, and Alternative Bank Limited.

In the merchant banking category, the apex banks listed, are Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FBN Merchant Bank Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Limited.

The financial holding companies listed were Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, FSDH Holding Company Limited, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Limited.

The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited was listed as the sole representative office.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that it will prohibit person-to-person (P2P) cryptocurrency trading in the Naira, aiming to safeguard its local currency from further depreciation and market manipulation.

This decision comes amidst concerns over the manipulation of the naira’s exchange rate by speculators operating within the P2P crypto trading sector.

Emomotimi Agama, director general, SEC,  disclosed during a meeting with fintech professionals that new regulations targeted at crypto exchanges, digital asset custodians, and other sectors of the cryptocurrency industry would be introduced shortly.

The upcoming regulatory changes come amid growing concerns over the impact of cryptocurrency on the naira’s exchange rate.

Despite these developments, Agama expressed openness to dialogue with industry stakeholders.

He stressed the importance of cooperation in implementing new regulations to safeguard the crypto space.

Agama’s proactive engagement aims to reassure stakeholders unsettled by recent events, including crackdowns on global cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.

SEC move to ‘delist’ the local currency is part of broader efforts to regulate the crypto industry. Nigeria’s decision reflects a broader global debate about how to regulate cryptocurrencies effectively.

Finding the right balance between oversight and innovation will be key to shaping a healthy crypto ecosystem that benefits everyone.

The aim is to stop people from manipulating the naira’s value.

While this sounds good, some worry it could limit access to cryptocurrencies for everyday Nigerians who rely on these platforms.

Balancing regulation and innovation is tricky. Regulation is important to protect people and ensure fair markets.

But it’s also important not to stifle new ideas. Cryptocurrencies offer new ways of doing things and can help people financially.

The challenge is to make rules that encourage this while also dealing with problems like fraud.