OPay has clarified opening account with mobile number controversy.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a Fintech company, OPay, has issued clarifications concerning mobile numbers discovered to have been registered with accounts without the owners approaching the company for account opening.
The company in a statement made available to NewsOnline Nigeria said its investigations revealed that some of the numbers involved had at some point in 2019/2020 created an OPay account.
ALSO: Nigerians Accuse Opay of opening accounts for them without their consent
The company insisted that an OPay wallet can only be created through the CBN-established registration process which requires the input of an OTP authentication (one-time password) from the user’s phone to proceed.
It also noted that “OPay has never created (nor does it operate) an account on behalf of any individual.”
OPay in the statement issued by its Head of Marketing, Kunle Adeyemi, said:
- “24 hours ago, we got information that there were active accounts/wallets on our OPay app, which the owners alleged had been created without their knowledge and/or consent.
- “We then immediately commenced an investigation to determine the authenticity of these claims as all OPay wallets are adequately registered in line with regulatory requirements.
- “Based on our investigation, we discovered that these accounts were indeed opened by the owners at different times, but generally between 2019/2020. When contacted by our team, some of the individuals have however claimed not to remember whether/when they opened the account.
- “At least four of the complaints received via social media have been checked, and all four of them have been contacted to resolve the concerns raised.
- “It is imperative to note that some of these accounts have had no balance in them since they were opened. As a law-abiding, strictly regulated entity, we have unequivocally inquired of these individuals if they would like to retain the accounts, and we obliged based on their responses.
- “On a final note, we would like to encourage any individual with similar concerns to contact us via any of our official channels, and the issues will be resolved promptly. As a brand, we place utmost priority on our customers’ needs and pride ourselves as a regulatory-compliant organization.”
NewsOnline Nigeria had reported that some people who have not opened an account with the fintech were discovering that they have an existing OPay account through their numbers.
Many people who discovered this took to social media to express their shock. A test of their claim by Nairametrics also confirmed this as a number that has not been registered showed up with an OPay account with the owner’s full name.
