Paystack is facing a ₦250 million penalty from Nigeria’s Central Bank for allegedly breaching its regulatory licence with the launch of its new product, Zap.
Launched in March 2024, Zap enables peer-to-peer money transfers. However, the Central Bank believes the service is operating as a digital wallet, an activity restricted to companies with a deposit-taking licence. Paystack, which holds a switching and processing licence, is not authorised to store customer funds directly.
Although the service reportedly works with Titan Trust Bank (a licensed financial institution), the CBN maintains that Paystack crossed a regulatory line by offering features typically associated with licensed wallet operators.
While Paystack has not issued an independent statement, the company previously shared that it is cooperating fully with regulators and has chosen not to comment publicly during the ongoing review.
This development highlights the growing regulatory pressure on Nigeria’s fintech sector, especially as more startups move into consumer-facing services. In recent months, major players like OPay and Moniepoint have also faced large fines related to licensing and compliance.
Techpluxx continues to monitor the situation and provide updates as they unfold.
Source: TechCabal
