CITIZENS COMPASS — In its bid to ensure security of accounts, a leading online bank, OPay, has announced plans to block some accounts effective March 1, 2024. .

Opay said it will remove fraudulent accounts from its system and block customers whose accounts are not compliant with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.

This announcement was made during a news conference held on Wednesday, in Lagos.

KYC, a standard banking process, involves verifying the identity and address of customers to prevent the misuse of banking services.

This move by OPay is aimed at reinforcing the security of the platform and safeguarding customer deposits against fraudulent activities.

The decision comes in the wake of a report that highlighted vulnerabilities in OPay’s registration and verification process for new accounts.

In response to these concerns, Olayemi Precilia, the director of cards business at OPay, assured that security measures on the platform have been significantly upgraded.

She revealed that new customers will now be required to provide their National Identity Number (NIN) as part of the account opening process.

As the deadline approaches, OPay customers are advised to update their account details to meet the KYC requirements to avoid any inconvenience.

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.”

Opay’s director of partnerships, Ikponmwosa Kolawole Odiase, said fraudulent accounts will be yanked off” the firm’s system. 

Going forward, according to Odiase, customers will be required to link their accounts with NIN and bank verification numbers (BVNs).

Speaking on the issue of poor facial verification on the application, he said the firm intends to deploy a system where there will be a backend verification of customers’ facials with 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.

“So many fictitious accounts will definitely go.”