NEW: OPAY WILL BLOCK ACCOUNTS ON MARCH 1ST

A significant security improvement to OPay’s operations has been revealed by the Nigerian financial technology business.

Commencing on March 1, 2024, the business will eliminate bogus accounts from its database and ban users whose accounts do not adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.

This declaration was made on Wednesday at a press conference.

In order to stop the improper use of financial services, KYC, a common banking procedure, entails confirming the identity and address of clients.

OPay has taken this action in an effort to strengthen platform security and protect consumer deposits from fraud.

Following a report that exposed weaknesses in OPay’s new account registration and verification procedure, the decision was made.

Olayemi Precilia, OPay’s director of cards business, reassured users that the platform’s security has been greatly strengthened in response to their worries.

She disclosed that as part of the account establishing procedure, new clients will now need to supply their National Identity Number (NIN).

OPay customers are urged to update their account information as the deadline draws near in order to comply with KYC standards and prevent any trouble.

She said, “When you log into your app and you have a tier one account and you don’t have your NIN, it will ask for your NIN. You cannot move forward without inputting that NIN. So, that is one of the things we’ve already done.

“The second thing is, for new customers, you’re going to start off with the NIN. That’s what we’re implementing. So, we’re pulling information from your NIN into your wallet. That is going live next month.

“And we have a timeline — March 1st — wherein anyone who is not compliant will be locked out.”

Ikponmwosa Kolawole Odiase, director of partnerships at Opay, declared that “fraudulent accounts will be yanked off” the company’s system.

Customers would have to link their accounts going ahead with NIN and bank verification numbers (BVNs), according to Odiase.

Regarding the issue of the application’s inadequate face verification, he stated that the company plans to implement a system that will allow for a backend verification of clients’ faces using BVNs and NINs.

He said, “It’s a collaboration between all relevant stakeholders — the regulators, the KYC agencies. All this is a way to curb fraud.

“The fraudsters are not sleeping and we also are waking up to the challenge. It’s an industry challenge, unfortunately.