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LAGOS, Nigeria - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space of its commitment to ensure transparency and integrity in fintech regulation.
Director-general of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said that at a meeting with Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme applicants, the commission had provided a level playing field to all applicants.
In an extract of the meeting sent to journalists on Monday in Lagos, Agama noted that SEC understood the anxiety and the need to be regulated but being careful, even in its desire to be inclusive.
He said that the process of registration was very technical because registration was the hallmark of regulation.
“Registration goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, and surveillance, and all of these are continuous,” he said.
Agama stated that the input of stakeholders was important, as rules would be amended to include all valid points to make it an all-inclusive document.
He disclosed that the commission had increased the fintech space to include more regulations to accommodate more individuals, institutions and functions.
Agama said: “We are trying to ensure that at the end of the day, as a country, we will stand out in the regulation of this space.
“Beyond any doubt, this space is the future, and we, as Nigerians, have embraced it.”
The SEC DG emphasised that the commission was not slow in its processes but must ensure that everything was in order to ensure fairness in any pronouncements.
Agama admitted that it was difficult to ensure that all the applicants would be registered.
“Certainly, not all of them will meet the requirements.
“The commission will keep providing clarity to some knotty areas to assist in the process.
“In the coming year, we will move faster in delivery and announcements, having learnt from this process. A new law has been passed and it is in the process of obtaining Presidential assent,” he said.
According to him, the law is replete with all of the ingredients legally required to properly regulate this space and give guidance to operators.
“All of these are efforts by the SEC to be as friendly as possible, protect the interest of the ecosystem and the interest of investors,” he said.
Agama assured that every application sent to the commission had been reviewed to ensure that whatever decision was taken met international best practices and was in the interest of Nigeria.
