After Debiting Customers, Nigerians Say Opay Opened Accounts in Their Names Without Permission
- The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has invited Opay for questioning over alleged unauthorised account openings
- FCCPC’s Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, revealed that the Commission is investigating the accusations and other anomalies
- Nigerians took to social media to reveal that they own accounts with Opay without opening one
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has waded into the complaints by Nigerians that Opay, the digital payment platform, opened accounts in their names without their authorisation.
The commission said it would question the payment company over the alleged infractions.
Source: Twitter
FCCPC promises to investigate alleged infractions
FCCPC’s Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, revealed that the commission was responding to allegations by Nigerians on X, formerly Twitter, of unauthorised account opening.
In post via his X page, Irukera said Opay is bound to explain to the agency what transpired and other alleged anomalies experienced by consumers in the last few days.
He promised to provide an update on the situation.
Opay is one of Nigeria’s biggest payment platforms, boasting over 30 million users and processing billions of naira worth of payments monthly.
The company said it has over 500,000 agents in Nigeria who rely on it to send and receive money and pay bills.
The payment company came into the spotlight at the height of the cash scarcity, with Nigerians relying on the platform for payment and transactions.
Opay responds to accusations
Addressing the alleged unauthorised account opening, Opay’s Head of Marketing, Kunle Adeyemi, stated that some of the affected persons might have interacted with Opay in the past.
Adeyemi said the company has noticed the tweets and is reviewing what transpired.
“Some people might have interacted with the platform at one point or another. It’s important that I get feedback internally based on our investigation before we respond,” Adeyemi said.
Merchants protest massive 'illegal withdrawals'
On Monday, October 2, 2023, Opay merchants protested illegal withdrawals from their accounts.
The merchants said they were thrown into panic following the withdrawals.
Opay has since responded to allegations on social media that some of its customers are experiencing unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts.
A video surfaced over the weekend on X (formerly Twitter) showing some customers complaining about fraudulent withdrawals.
In the old video, which first surfaced online in August 2021, customers at the Opay office in Ikeja were seen protesting the withdrawals.
The video, which was initially passed off as a recent event, generated a lot of reactions and led to panic withdrawals by customers.
Reacting to the video, OPay, in a statement, denied the allegations on the footage while reassuring customers their money was safe.
CBN reacts after rumoured suspension of OPAY and PalmPay accounts
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) debunked reports that it suspended the accounts of OPAY and PALMPAY due to their alleged involvement in fraudulent activities.
CBN's Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, described the news as false.
A viral message attributed to AbdulMumin had claimed that the CBN was planning to suspend the accounts of the Fintech companies.
Source: Legit.ng
