OPay, one of Nigeria's leading fintech companies, has responded to allegations on social media that some of its customers are experiencing unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts.
A video surfaced over the weekend on X (formerly Twitter) showing some customers complaining about fraudulent withdrawals.
In the old video, which first surfaced online in August 2021, customers at the Opay office in Ikeja were seen protesting the withdrawals. The video, which was initially passed off as a recent event, generated a lot of reactions and led to panic withdrawals from customers.
Reacting to the video OPay in a statement denied the allegations on the video while reassuring customers their money was safe. The message reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a certain old video that resurfaced on some social media platforms regarding alleged fraudulent activities on some OPay Agent accounts.
“We wish to state that the allegations are dated and have been resolved in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. We implore our customers and the general public to ignore and disregard the video and its content.
We remain committed to protecting our users from any fraudulent activity or scam as customer data protection is our priority.”
The company also reiterated that its platform is solid with tested infrastructure to keep customers' funds safe and secure.
We wish to inform our esteemed customers that this information is false and urge you to disregard it completely.
The clarification from Opay seemed to have come too late for some customers who had, out of panic, withdrawn all their money from the fintech account to avoid falling victim. A customer of OPay, identified as Olanrewaju Abdulyekeen, said:
“I have been a victim of many scams recently, thank God I was able to move my money out of your account. Communication is key. Learn to communicate with your customers when you have issues or crises.”
@AwwalAliu6h, while sharing a screenshot of a debit of N54,444 on October 1, 2023, said he never carried out the transaction.
In another report, 365MediaHub revealed that MultiChoice Group, the South African media company known for owning DSTV and GOtv, is making a foray into banking service by launching a new payment infrastructure platform called Moment.
In collaboration with investors Rapyd and General Catalyst, MultiChoice aims to revolutionize the payments landscape in Africa by providing businesses with a more accessible, faster, and cost-effective payment infrastructure.
According to a statement by MultiChoice, Moment will consolidate the $3.5 billion in payments processed annually by the company.