The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed Opay, Moniepoint, Kuda and other microfinance banks from registering new customers.
The order was part of the ongoing efforts by the apex bank to stop the manipulation of the naira through these platforms.
They are also accused of using their platforms to funnel cryptocurrency, according to various sources in the CBN who spoke on anonymity.
The magazine reports that the Yemi Cardoso led CBN had recently clampdown on those manipulating the exchange rate of the naira, including the arrest of some top executives of virtual assets service providers, VASPs in the country.
The online bank service providers have already intimated their customers of the directive form the regulator.
“Hello! We’ve temporarily paused new sign-ups on our platform. This means that you’ll be unable to open a new account at the moment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause,” Moniepoint said in a message to prospective customers.