OPay Digital Services Limited, one of Nigeria's licensed mobile money operators, has come under scrutiny following disclosures that it incurred regulatory penalties approaching ₦1 billion between 2023 and 2025 over alleged breaches of financial services, anti-money laundering, consumer protection and data privacy regulations.
The disclosures, contained in the company's audited financial statements, indicate that OPay faced sanctions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The report puts the aggregate penalties at ₦994 million over the three-year period, although the individual amounts disclosed account for ₦945.7 million, leaving a difference of ₦48.3 million that requires clarification.
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The reported sanctions raise questions about the effectiveness of the company's regulatory compliance and internal control arrangements, particularly given its position in Nigeria's rapidly expanding digital payments market.
According to the disclosures, OPay was fined ₦26 million by the CBN in 2023 for breaches of regulations relating to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
In 2024, the company reportedly incurred a further ₦113.7 million in penalties for breaches of the same regulatory framework.
The rules are designed to ensure that financial institutions maintain appropriate systems for identifying customers, monitoring suspicious transactions and preventing the misuse of financial services for illicit activities.
A breach of these compliance requirements does not, in itself, establish that the institution engaged in money laundering or financed terrorism.
Beyond the anti-money laundering penalties, OPay was reportedly sanctioned ₦197 million for violations of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The company also incurred a ₦10 million penalty for customer due diligence lapses and ₦2 million for breaches of the CBN's Consumer Protection Regulations.
In addition, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission reportedly imposed a ₦125 million fine over violations of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria imposed a further ₦7 million penalty for advertising-related breaches, while the Corporate Affairs Commission sanctioned the company ₦1 million for violations of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
The largest individual penalty identified in the disclosures came in 2025, when OPay reportedly paid ₦464 million to the CBN for breaching the Framework for Mobile Money Services in Nigeria 2021.
The framework establishes operational and regulatory requirements for mobile money service providers, including provisions governing their activities within Nigeria's financial system.
The sequence of penalties across several regulatory areas has brought renewed attention to the importance of internal controls, risk management and compliance oversight within financial technology companies.
For mobile money operators handling substantial volumes of customer transactions, compliance with anti-money laundering, customer identification and data protection requirements is essential to safeguarding the integrity of financial services.
The reported sanctions also come against the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding OPay's proposed listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the source report, the company had planned to raise approximately $304 million through the sale of 16 million American Depositary Shares at $19 each, targeting a valuation of about $4 billion.
However, the proposed initial public offering was reportedly terminated following a regulatory inquiry in an undisclosed foreign jurisdiction.
The report stated that OPay reached a mutual agreement with its underwriters to discontinue the offering, although the supplied accounts contain conflicting dates for the announcement.
OPay reportedly described the jurisdiction involved in the inquiry as immaterial to its principal business operations and expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved.
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