OPay, a fintech company, is facing scrutiny from Nigerians and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as a growing number of individuals are discovering unauthorized accounts opened in their names with the company.
This issue came to light on the social media platform “X” on Monday, prompting numerous people to reveal that they have recently found OPay accounts associated with their mobile numbers, even though they never initiated the account opening process themselves.
OPay, operating as a licensed mobile money service, utilizes customers’ mobile numbers as their account identifiers. However, the mystery remains as to how individuals who never contacted the company for an account are finding their mobile numbers linked to OPay accounts bearing their full names.
To investigate this claim, Nairmetrics conducted a test using a mobile number that had never been registered with OPay. Using a GTBank app, the test revealed the analyst’s full name linked to the number. Subsequently, a test transaction was initiated to transfer N200 to the account, and it went through successfully.
debit alert was received from GTB, but the question remains where did the money go?
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?”
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?
— Name cannot be blank (@hackSultan) October 2, 2023
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.
https://x.com/0sadebame/status/1708932800143839675?s=20
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?”
https://x.com/Lost_DWTBF/status/1708945487091339543?s=20
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 Nairametric
