The Senate on Wednesday called for a stronger regulatory framework that would place the Central Bank of Nigeria at the centre of supervising the country’s fast-growing financial technology sector.
The upper chamber also demanded tougher measures to curb the rising wave of Ponzi schemes across the country.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), disclosed this during a one-day public hearing at the National Assembly, Abuja.
The hearing focused on the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 959) and an investigative session into the operations of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria, with particular reference to the recent Crypto Bullion Exchange incident.
The session was jointly organised by the Senate Committees on Banking, ICT and Cyber Security, Capital Market, and Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes.
Abiru said the proposed amendment seeks to strengthen the existing legal framework under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and provide a clear statutory basis for the designation, registration and supervision of Systemically Important Institutions, particularly technology-driven financial service providers.
According to him, the bill will amend BOFIA 2020 to reflect the realities of Nigeria’s evolving financial ecosystem, where fintech companies now process huge transaction volumes and hold sensitive financial data belonging to millions of Nigerians.
Over the past decade, fintech firms — including mobile money operators, payment platforms, digital lenders and settlement companies — have expanded rapidly, deepening financial inclusion.
However, concerns have grown that the regulatory framework has not kept pace with their scale and systemic importance.
Although the Central Bank of Nigeria currently designates Systemically Important Financial Institutions, the framework largely focuses on banks and does not fully address large, non-bank digital platforms, thereby creating regulatory gaps.
Abiru said the amendment would empower the CBN to designate qualifying fintechs and digital financial institutions as Systemically Important Institutions, establish a national registry to enhance transparency and beneficial ownership disclosure, strengthen risk-based supervision tailored to technology-driven services, and promote data sovereignty and systemic stability.
“The question has arisen as to whether the creation of a new standalone regulatory agency would be a preferable pathway for supervising fintechs.
“However, after careful consideration, it is evident that establishing an entirely new agency would duplicate functions, create bureaucratic overlap, increase administrative costs, and fragment regulatory authority in a sector where coordination and coherence are essential”. Abiru said.
He added that fintech regulation is closely tied to monetary policy, payments oversight, prudential supervision, Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering enforcement, as well as systemic risk monitoring — functions that already reside within the Central Bank.
“It is far more effective to strengthen the BOFIA framework, modernise CBN supervisory powers, and mandate robust coordination with agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Finance,” he said.
The senator noted that incorporating fintech regulation into BOFIA would prevent regulatory silos and ensure digital financial services remain integrated with the broader banking system.
Beyond fintech regulation, the Senate also intensified its scrutiny of Ponzi schemes and fraudulent digital investment platforms.
Abiru described the growing prevalence of such schemes as a serious threat to financial stability and public confidence.
He cited the recent CBEX incident, which reportedly led to significant losses for many Nigerians, including young professionals, retirees, traders, small business owners and students.
He warned that Ponzi schemes not only cause personal hardship but also undermine trust in legitimate financial institutions, distort capital allocation, damage Nigeria’s financial reputation and increase the risk of money laundering and illicit financial flows.
Following its investigation into regulatory gaps, institutional coordination and the adequacy of existing laws, the Senate proposed stricter measures to curb fraudulent investment platforms.
Stakeholders who made submissions at the hearing included representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigerian Communications Commission, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, among others.
The Senate said it would consider the memoranda submitted before making its final recommendations on the proposed amendment and related regulatory reforms.
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