A chat with Verto’s Austin Okpagu about Nigeria’s Fintech Regulatory Commission bill

Nigeria’s proposed National Fintech Regulatory Commission (NFRC) bill has sparked equal parts optimism and anxiety across the fintech sector. For Austin Okpagu, Country Manager at Verto, the bill is a recognition of fintech’s maturity and a sign of progress, but one that demands surgical precision, not a sledgehammer.

“For a bill like this to even be proposed, it shows the industry has become important enough to warrant its own regulatory body,” he says. “That’s huge.”

But Okpagu’s optimism is tempered by experience. “I’m cautious about the implications of adding another regulator without fixing existing overlaps. We already deal with CBN, SEC, NITDA, and NOTAP, all issuing different rules.”

His concern isn’t unique. The NFRC bill, which aims to consolidate fintech oversight under one commission, promises clarity. But it also risks creating yet another node in Nigeria’s regulatory maze.

The NFRC bill promises a single regulator

At first glance, the NFRC bill seems sensible. It seeks to end the fragmentation of fintech supervision, offering one door to knock on, not six.

Okpagu agrees this could be transformative. “If the goal is to ensure I don’t have to engage five or six agencies every time I launch a product, it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

The key, he argues, is execution. Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem comprises over 400 companies, ranging from payment startups to digital lenders and microfinance institutions. “Imagine all those firms now reporting to one body,” he warned. “If it’s not structured right, that body will drown under its own workload.”

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is often cited as the model for centralised oversight without suffocating innovation. But Okpagu doubts Nigeria is ready for that level of institutional maturity. 

“We’ve seen commissions created before that couldn’t keep up with the industries they were meant to regulate,” he said. “Speed is everything in tech. Regulation moves slowly.”

Meanwhile, as the head of a cross-border payments company, he sees potential beyond compliance. A unified commission could make it easier for Nigerian fintechs to expand across Africa.

“If I’m licensed in Nigeria, should I start from zero in Kenya or Ghana?” he asked. “The commission could help harmonise standards across markets and make licence ‘passporting’ possible.”

That idea, similar to the EU’s regulatory framework, is attractive for businesses like Verto. But it requires regional cooperation that’s rarely seen. 

“Different countries have different codes of practice,” Okpagu noted. “Harmonisation sounds good on paper, but implementation will be tough.”

He’s also wary of how the NFRC might enforce data privacy and consumer protection rules across borders. “When your business operates in multiple jurisdictions, who ensures compliance? That’s a question the bill doesn’t answer.”

Innovation vs. regulation: The eternal tension

Okpagu’s most forceful point is about timing. “In Africa, innovation is faster than regulation,” he said flatly. “Regulators are always playing catch-up.”

He recalled how the Central Bank of Nigeria and SEC initially cracked down on crypto startups, only to draft digital asset frameworks later. “If we take a black-and-white approach again, we’ll end up killing innovation,” he warned.

Nigeria’s fintech explosion, spawned by the absence of strict rules, could easily stall under heavy-handed oversight. “Before now, many of the fintechs that became unicorns were experimenting. They tested ideas first, then regulators built guidelines around them,” he said. “That freedom is what made the sector thrive.”

The NFRC bill, in his view, must preserve that spirit. “If the new rules don’t leave room for experimentation, we’ll lose our edge.”

For Okpagu, the real test isn’t the bill’s language, but who shapes it. “You can’t design regulation in isolation,” he said. “Fintech founders, operators, and investors must all be involved.”

He suggested a pilot approach before full implementation. “Why not create a single-desk model across existing agencies and test it for a year? If it works, scale it. Don’t build a commission first and hope it works later.”

That pragmatism reflects an industry that has learnt to survive despite the system, not because of it.