CBN creates unit to regulate FinTech startups – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to establish a Collateral Management Regime (CMR) to regulate the activities of financial technology (FinTech) firms and startups.
Its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in his keynote address at the inaugural Lagos Fintech Week in Lagos, said: “CMR is being developed in line with on-going efforts to evolve a robust collateral management regime which will be proportionate to transactional level of participants within the payment system.”
Represented on the occasion by the Director, Payments System Management Department (PSMD), Sam Okojere, the apex bank chief said the consequences of the new regime are that both incumbents and new entrants will operate without unnecessary collateral burden.
A fintech lawyer and partner, Private Equity Capital at the chambers of Aluko & Oyebode, Oludare Sembore who also spoke at the event said: “The Nigerian approach to FinTech regulation is somewhat similar to the United States and South Africa. FinTech in these countries are not governed by any specific legal framework, as the regulators are currently taking steps to understand the concept.”
He said the FinTech space in the country is largely regulated by circulars and guidelines published by the CBN and a host of existing regulations that apply to “traditional financial service institutions.”