CBN Alert: Unauthorized Account Opened by Fintech OPay Using My Phone Numbers

Credible News Nigeria received reports that a Fintech company, Opay registered many bank accounts using people’s mobile numbers without their approvals

On hearing this, in the quest to confirm the allegations, one of our reporters who has no bank account with Opay typed the ten digits of his phone line to a KUDA App and it brought out his name. He deposited N100 to the Opay which he never registered account and it went through. His KUDA account was debited instantly.

Opay, owned by a Chinese man boasts of 35 million users of its mobile apps in Nigeria. How did it gets these 35 million subscribers in Nigeria? Is it through this unauthorized registration of people using their phone numbers without their consent.

Who gave Opay access to individuals data including their NIN to effectively register functional accounts?

The CBN and its authorized regulatory agencies should immediate investigate this abnormalities.

Nairametrics first drew the attention of the public to its publication on Monday:

“Fintech company, OPay, may have some explanations to do to Nigerians and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as many people are now discovering they have an account in their name with the company even without opening one.

The issue that surfaced on the social media platform, X, on Monday has seen many people coming out to confirm that they are just discovering they have an account with the company through their mobile number.

OPay as a licensed mobile money operator, uses customers’ mobile numbers as their account numbers. It is, however, unclear yet how people who have not approached the company for account opening are seeing their number as an OPay account with their full names.

Nairmetrics put this claim to test with a phone number that has never been registered with OPay, using a GTBank app and it indeed brought out our Analyst’s full name.

A test transaction was initiated to transfer N200 to the account and it successfully went through.

A debit alert was received from GTB, but the question remains where did the money go?

The discovery 

Sharing the discovery, an X user, @hackSultan wrote

• “I just checked now and someone, I have an Opay account, same with every member of my family. None of us has ever opened an Opay account. How’s this even legal?”

This prompted other people to check their number. This can be done by trying to send money from another bank app and then selecting OPay as the receiving bank and typing your phone number as the account number without the first “0” digit.

Another X user, @0sadebame tried this and confirmed that there is an OPay account for her two lines.

• “It’s quite a discovery. Both my lines have an OPay account registered to them. I’ve never used Opay before,” she said.

It was the same for @Lost_DWTBF, who shared:

• “I just checked mine and is the same. @OPay_NG, is there a reason why my number is registered when I have never?”

The result was the same for many other people without an OPay account who checked and found out there is an OPay account to their number and with their full names.

FCCPC reacts 

Reacting to the posts and complaints by the affected people, the Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, said OPay would have to explain how this is happening and promised to provide an update.

• “OPAY is bound to @fccpcnigeria to address and explain this and other anomalies consumers have identified in the last few days,” he said in his X post while responding to posts on the issue.

OPay launches investigations 

When Nairametrics contacted OPay for explanations on the issue, the company acknowledged that it had also come across the complaints on X and has started investigations to unravel the mystery.

The company’s Head of Marketing, Kunle Adeyemi, however, noted that some of the affected people might have had interactions with OPay in the past.

• “We saw these tweets yesterday and internally we are currently reviewing what transpired as we ensure that all wallet holders are adequately registered.  Some people might have had interactions with the platform at one point or the other, it’s important that I get feedback internally based on our investigation before we respond,” he told Nairametrics.

Credit: Nairametrics