Senate Passes Bill To Tighten Regulation Of Fintech Firms

…CBN To Conduct Stress Tests, Enforce Cybersecurity Standards

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to strengthen the regulation of major financial technology companies and other non-bank financial institutions.

The bill empowers the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to subject operators with significant influence on the financial system to stricter oversight.

The proposed amendment to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020, seeks to address emerging risks associated with the rapid expansion of Fintech operations, particularly companies whose transaction volumes, customer base and interconnectedness could threaten the country’s financial stability.

The bill, SB. 959, is titled: A Bill for an Act to Amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, No. 5 of 2020, to Provide for the Designation, Registration and Enhanced Supervision of Systemically Important Institutions; and for Other Related Matters.

It was presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Tokunbo Abiru.

Abiru, who represents Lagos East senatorial district, sponsored the legislation alongside members of his committee. He presented the committee’s report during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Under the proposed framework, the CBN will have the authority to identify and designate qualifying Fintech companies and other non-bank financial institutions as Systemically Important Institutions (SIIs), bringing them under enhanced prudential supervision.

The proposed law also provides for stricter corporate governance requirements, cybersecurity safeguards, technology-risk management, operational resilience and greater transparency in the ownership structures of designated institutions.

It further empowers the apex bank to conduct stress tests, data-integrity assessments and enhanced regulatory reporting, while granting it supervisory access to relevant information and operational systems of designated institutions.

The legislation also seeks to establish an official register of systemically important institutions, strengthen beneficial ownership disclosures and provide enforcement mechanisms and sanctions for operators that breach regulatory requirements.

The committee disclosed that the bill received broad support from regulatory agencies, government institutions, financial operators and professional bodies during a public hearing held on March 4, 2026.

It said the CBN supported the proposed amendment, arguing that large Fintech operators, because of their transaction volumes, customer bases and interconnected operations, require effective risk-based supervision to safeguard financial stability.

The committee added that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) also endorsed stronger oversight but called for clear boundaries between prudential regulation, competition enforcement and consumer protection to prevent duplication of responsibilities between regulatory agencies.

Other institutions that supported the bill, according to the committee, included the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Bank of Industry.

Several banks and other financial institutions were also said to have backed the proposed amendment, with stakeholders generally emphasising the need to strengthen financial stability, encourage responsible digital innovation, improve regulatory coordination and protect consumers.

The committee said its consideration of the legislation followed consultations with stakeholders and members of the public, including invitations for memoranda through advertisements in print and electronic media.

The bill had earlier passed second reading on December 4, 2025, before being referred to the banking committee for further legislative consideration.

The Senate subsequently considered the committee’s report clause by clause at the Committee of the Whole and passed the bill for third reading, paving the way for the proposed expansion of regulatory oversight over Nigeria’s fast-growing digital financial services industry.