CBN Curbs Expansion Plans of Nigeria’s Fintech Giants
Nigeria’s biggest payment companies are facing a new reality this week after the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced rules that strike directly at the heart of their growth strategy. The new CBN fintech restrictions, issued in a circular this week, bar any licensed payment firm that controls more than 25% of the consumer-issuing market from holding more than 15% share in merchant acquiring, and the reverse applies too. The rule also covers related entities, closing the door on firms that might try to spread operations across subsidiaries to dodge the cap.
The timing could not be more significant. Companies like Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, Paystack and Flutterwave have spent years building dominant positions on both sides of Nigeria’s payments landscape, serving everyday consumers while also powering the point-of-sale terminals and payment gateways that businesses rely on. Moniepoint currently controls roughly 38.5% of Nigeria’s POS market, while OPay holds close to 27%, numbers built on aggressive expansion into underserved consumers and small traders across the country.
The apex bank’s move comes right as fintechs have been pushing harder into full-scale banking. Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank in January, shortly after launching its consumer app, Zap, while Flutterwave picked up a microfinance banking licence in April. Both were clear bets on converting payment users into banking customers and gaining tighter control over deposits. The new CBN fintech restrictions now threaten to unwind that strategy before it fully takes off.
According to the CBN, the rules are meant to curb dangerous concentration in a digital payments market that crossed NGN 1 quadrillion (about USD 733 billion) in 2025. The regulator pointed to systemic risk concerns tied to operators gaining outsized control across multiple corners of the payments ecosystem at once.
For Flutterwave, valued above USD 3 billion, and OPay, valued at USD 2.75 billion, the implications are serious. Both companies may need to rethink which market they want to lead, since holding dominant positions in both is no longer an option. Traditional banks eyeing merchant acquiring while maintaining their grip on consumer banking could feel the squeeze too.
Operators now have until December 31, 2026, to restructure their operations and fall in line. The CBN has also mandated monthly market share reporting to track compliance and catch violations early.
For now, the message from Abuja is clear: Nigeria’s fintech giants can no longer have it both ways.
