The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has withdrawn the operating licenses of seven payment services providers and one Switch service provider for not complying with obligations imposed on them according to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).
This information was contained in an Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recently published on the CBN’s website.
The payment service banks whose operating licenses were revoked are
- Easifuel Limited
- Transaction Processing System (TPS)
- Grand Towers Limited
- Paymaster Limited
- E-Revenue Gateway Limited
- Eartholeum Network Limited
- Globasure Limited.
The payment service provider whose switch licence was revoked as contained in schedule II is 3Line Card Management Limited.
The official Gazette dated November 30, 2020, stated that the payment service providers listed in schedule 1 have ceased to carry on, in Nigeria the type of business for which their licenses were issued for a continuous period of six months.
Part of the statement as contained in the Gazette reads: “I, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Central Bank of Nigeria under Sections 60 and 62 of BOFIA, CAP B3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 hereby revoke the licenses of the payment service providers listed in Schedule I and the switch license of payment services providers listed in Schedule II attached hereto.”
The CBN on December 10, 2020 approved new license categorization for the payment system with corresponding minimum capital requirements ranging from N50 million to N2 billion.
This is in line with its commitment to promote a strong and credible payment system. The four new licensed categorisation are switching and processing, Mobile Money Operation (MMO), Payment Solution Services (PSSs), and regulatory sandbox.
