Eyowo says its MFB licence has been reinstated by CBN with an ‘approval in principle’

Digital bank, Eyowo says its Microfinance license has been restored by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This development was revealed in a statement shared with tech media organisation, Benjamin Dada. According to the statement, the reinstatement was done with an approval in principle.

Recall that in May 2023, the CBN revoked the licenses of 47 microfinance banks. It turned out one of those banks was Eyowo, a digital bank providing banking services to users. The licences of the 47 microfinance banks were revoked because they had either remained inactive, insolvent, failed to render returns, closed shop, or ceased to carry on the type of banking business for which they were licensed for more than six months.

The apex bank said this is in contravention of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020, and the Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Microfinance Banks in Nigeria.

But the company appears to have regained its licence in principle according to its latest statement.

“We have successfully met the requirements laid out by the CBN and have got our licence reinstated with an approval-in-principle. With the basic infrastructure in place and our licence restored, we turned our attention to restructuring our internal operations and connecting our systems,” the statement reads.

Eyowo says customers now have access to their funds

Following the revocation of its licence, the bank’s accounts were frozen by the country’s apex bank. The digital bank then told its customers they would not be able to send or receive money from their accounts for some time as a result of the revocations.

Following this development, customers started expressing concern over their inability to make transactions or even access their cash. This continued despite the company’s assurance that there was no cause for alarm while also pledging that it remains committed to ensuring the security of customer funds.

But in its statement, the company said after committing all available manpower and resources towards restoring access, customers now finally have excess to their funds.

“Eyowo customers now have access to their funds through our partnership with ProvidusBank as they individually conclude the verification process. We put this process in place to ensure the safety of their funds, prevent fraud and for regulatory compliance.

This has been our priority in the last few months, and we are relieved that we have finally honoured this commitment to our customers.

Eyowo’s ordeal coming to an end

This latest development appears to be drawing the curtain in a year-long ordeal that has rocked the digital bank. Following the revocation of its licence, Eyowo would announce the resumption of its financial services using its Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP) licence. 

At the time, Co-CEO, Yomi Adedeji claimed that the bank is now 98.8 per cent ready to resume its activities, stressing that as one of the 75 companies licensed by CBN as PSSPs, Eyowa will continue providing its payment services.

Please bear in mind that with our PSSP licence, we are fully backed by the CBN to continue providing the services you enjoy on Eyowo,” he said.

But that wasn’t to be the case because by June 2024, Texhnext reported that the company was shutting down its operations as it was per an internal mail sent to its staff. In the mail, the company said it has found itself unable to stay true to its purpose and values, primarily hampered by the numerous challenges it has faced in the first half of the year and the past years which has impacted its abilities to fulfil its obligations.

“We are wrapping up Softcom and Eyowo as you know it. This means all our processes, procedures, responsibilities and departments have all been dissolved. We have held our human-centred values for a very long time and no longer recognise it within the company, our realities and abilities to act,” the mail read.

The company would go on to deny that it has shut down operations, insisting that it was only pivoting into what it described as “financial connectedness.” But the company appears to have regained its licence, opened up access to customers’ funds and says it is well on its way back to full business.

See also: Eyowo denies shutting down, says it is pivoting into ‘financial connectedness’