CBN and SEC Fintech Rules Split Nigeria’s Industry Views

In Short

Nigeria’s fintech industry is split over new CBN and SEC rules. Supporters say the changes improve transparency and security. Critics say they raise the cost of compliance and could squeeze smaller players.

What Happened

CBN and SEC fintech rules are landing at a time when regulators want tighter oversight of fast-growing digital finance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a circular that raises minimum capital requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges by January 2027. Capital requirements are the minimum amount of paid-up funds a regulated company must keep, similar to a safety buffer. The SEC position is often framed as a way to ensure exchanges can cover operational and customer risks.

Separately, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed financial institutions to identify, verify, and disclose their Ultimate Beneficial Owners, or UBOs. A UBO is the real person who ultimately owns or controls a company, even if the company is registered through nominees or holding structures.

Some operators say the broader direction of travel is positive. Wale Ameen, founder of Cush, pointed to measures such as cybersecurity rules, limits on multi-device access, licence upgrades, beneficial ownership disclosure, and data localisation as steps toward a more trusted ecosystem. Data localisation means keeping certain types of payment and customer data stored within Nigeria, rather than in foreign data centres.

Others are more cautious. Femi Adegolu, co-founder of Tradepal AI, criticised the SEC’s higher capital bar for digital asset exchanges. He argued that forcing early-stage companies to keep large sums idle before product-market fit could slow down local startup growth and tilt the market toward better-funded foreign firms. He also warned that high barriers could push crypto activity into unlicensed channels with weaker anti-money laundering controls.

Why It Matters

Nigeria’s fintech sector depends on trust, stable infrastructure, and clear rules. But it also depends on entry being affordable for local founders.

If the rules are enforced without accessible compliance tooling, smaller exchanges and early-stage fintechs may struggle to stay regulated. If enforcement is too light, regulators risk repeating past issues tied to fraud, data misuse, and weak governance.

The next big test is how the SEC phases in crypto capital requirements ahead of 2027, and how CBN supervises UBO disclosure across banks, payment firms, and other regulated institutions.