The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria has assured financial technology (fintech) and digital asset operators in the country of creating clear regulatory regime for their operations in order to ensure the stability and sustainable growth of the nation’s market
The Director-General of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, who gave the assurance at the second Bi-Annual Regulator/FinTech Clinic organised by the commission on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that the commission was working to strengthen the safety of the fintech and digital assets ecosystem through effective regulation.
According to him, the capital market regulatory commission remains fully committed to creating a regulatory environment that allows fintech and digital asset operators to enter and operate in the market while complying with applicable rules.
The investment expert assured: “We want the digital platforms to enter the market through clear pathways. We do not want to gag anyone, but we are open to listening to every complaint.”
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Agama urged the fintech and digital asset operators to comply with the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 and other relevant regulations and expressed the readiness of the commission to collaborate with them as part of the collective drive to build a stronger ecosystem for Nigeria.
In his remarks at the forum, the SEC Executive Commissioner, Operations, Mr Bola Ajomale, who explained that the commission’s mandate was to manage risks and ensure financial system stability, noted that some fintech and digital asset operators sometimes faced factors that impeded the smooth approval of their registration with the commission.
The Executive Commissioner listed some of the challenges as including unclear proposals, inadequate risk governance structures, insufficient capital and weak compliance plans among the challenges affecting the registration process.
He promised that the commission would continue to strengthen its regulatory capacity to proactively respond to evolving technologies in the market.
Also, the SEC’s Divisional Head, Virtual Assets and FinTech Supervision, Ms Janet Joseph, explained that Approval in Principle (AIP) was a controlled supervisory pathway and not a final licence, which allows the Commission to assess evidence of governance, capital readiness, technology controls and investor protection safeguards before making a formal registration decision.
Speaking at the forum, the Acting Head, Operational and Digital Intelligence at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Mr Aminu Garba, disclosed that investment fraud represented half of the cases investigated by the unit, charging the fintech and digital asset operators to comply with anti-money laundering regulations when providing services to their customers.
To ensure this, he advised the operators to always conduct customer due diligence, monitor cross-border transactions, screen customers’ names and report suspicious transactions to the NFIU.
In his address at the event, President of the FinTech Association of Nigeria, Dr. Stanley Jacob, urged the SEC to encourage more fintech firms to join its regulatory incubation programme in order to broaden knowledge sharing among the operators.
