By Dipo Olowookere

Some hours ago, news went viral that the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc has directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to take down all non-deposit financial institutions from their NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform because they are not authorised to hold customers’ funds.

The circular, which was dated Tuesday, December 5, 2023, has generated mixed reactions as a few media platforms, excluding Business Post, listed some mobile money operators (MMOs) like Opay, PalmPay, and others are part of the financial technology (fintech) firms affected by the directive.

In the disclosure sighted by this newspaper, the NIBSS specifically said those not licensed to accept deposits are Super Agents, Switching Companies, and Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs).

A look at the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that 47 companies were issued licences by the CBN to operate as Super Agents, 75 firms were authorised by the apex bank to function as PSSPs, and 16 fintechs have the Switching and Processing licence.

Below is the full list, as obtained from the CBN, of the three categories of fintechs affected by the NIBSS directive;

https://businesspost.ng/banking/full-list-of-pssps-others-nibss-ordered-banks-to-remove-from-transfer-list/