OPay steps up compliance investment as digital fraud risks rise

Nigeria’s rapid shift towards digital payments is increasing the need for stronger safeguards against fraud and financial crime, prompting fintech companies to deepen investments in compliance, risk management and governance.

OPay, one of Nigeria’s largest digital payments companies, says it has strengthened its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) infrastructure with artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and real-time transaction monitoring to detect and stop suspicious activity.

The company said its internally developed risk-control system, built over the past three years, now operates more than 5,000 real-time monitoring and blocking rules alongside more than 10,000 risk-feature profiles.

According to OPay, the system has helped keep its transaction fraud rate below 0.001 percent, as the company seeks to shift from investigating suspicious transactions after they occur to identifying and stopping risks in real time.

The company said its compliance infrastructure has also identified and blocked more than one million fake identities, while its facial live-detection technology blocks tens of thousands of attacks daily.

Identity fraud remains a major risk for digital financial services, as stolen or fabricated identities can be used to open accounts, commit fraud, or move illicit funds.

OPay said its digital identity verification and facial recognition systems are designed to detect impersonation and other attempts to circumvent customer identification controls during account registration and access.

The fintech, which ranks as the largest by customer base, has also incorporated AI models and intelligent-agent technology into its risk management processes to analyse customer and transaction data and identify unusual account behaviour.

Where suspicious activity is confirmed, the company said its controls can facilitate the immediate interception of transactions and, where necessary, permanent account suspension.

The increasing sophistication of cybercrime has made real-time monitoring more important for financial institutions, particularly as more Nigerians use digital channels for everyday payments.

For customers, much of the benefit of such systems is reflected in transactions that never result in a financial loss because they are stopped before completion.

Beyond fraud detection, OPay said its compliance framework covers Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, AML controls, cybersecurity, data protection, consumer education, and internal governance.

KYC controls help financial institutions verify customers and reduce account misuse, while AML systems are used to identify unusual transaction patterns that could indicate financial crime.

The company said effective compliance cannot rely on technology alone, requiring skilled personnel, clear internal controls, continuous monitoring, staff training, and governance structures capable of responding to changing risks and regulatory requirements.

This has led OPay to spread its compliance investment across technology, people, and processes, with the aim of strengthening its operational resilience and ability to respond to emerging financial and cyber risks.

The broader implications extend beyond individual fintech companies.

A more secure digital payments environment can strengthen confidence in electronic transactions, protect legitimate businesses and make financial services less vulnerable to criminal exploitation. Greater trust could also support financial inclusion by encouraging more consumers and businesses to use formal digital channels for payments and money management.

As Nigeria’s fintech industry expands, the quality of risk management and customer protection is becoming increasingly important alongside innovation and convenience.

The scale of financial and cybercrime also means that regulators, banks, fintechs, technology companies and other stakeholders will need to work together to strengthen the security of the digital financial system.

For OPay, the focus is on preventing financial crime before it causes damage — from blocking fraudulent identities and intercepting suspicious transactions to protecting legitimate customers.

In an increasingly digital financial system, trust depends not only on how quickly and conveniently transactions can be completed, but also on the systems and controls designed to keep those transactions safe.