Summary:

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not order PalmPay, Opay, and other fintechs to shut down, despite rumors spread by a Twitter user.
• There was no official communication from the CBN or the affected platforms.
• False news can cause panic, especially during a period of cash scarcity, where many people have turned to wireless transfers to complete purchases, and fintechs like PalmPay have been stepping up to meet needs.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not give any order for PalmPay, Opay, and other fintechs to shutdown as a Twitter user said. Independent sources refuted the claim and there was no official communication from the apex financial institution or the allegedly affected payment platforms.

It appears that the user had intentionally spread the rumour to go viral, which the Tweet did as it has reappeared in other places like WhatsApp statuses, Facebook groups and more.

False news are not new but a Tweet of this magnitude is worrying because of the panic it caused based on the timing. It came at a time when Nigerians were finding it hard to get their hands on cash.

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PalmPay: the chosen one as Nigerians scramble for cash

In a recent update, President Buhari announced that only the old 200 Naira notes were still legal tenders while the old 1000 and 500 Naira notes were no longer legal tender. His announcement came after 24 hours of unrivaled panic as the CBN refused to give ground on its February 10 deadline.

In lieu of cash, many are turning to wireless transfers to complete purchases. Yet, several traditional banks were not able to meet needs and there were several failed or delayed transactions, which is why fintechs stepped up.

One of the most popular at the time of writing this article was PalmPay as many satisfied users have come online to share testimonies about the speed at which they are able to complete transactions using it.

The company has not reported what volume of new users it has seen during the new currency scarcity period but an uptick in its activities on social media is an indicator that its customer base is growing, or at least, the volume of transactions it is processing has increased.

With this context in mind, it is clear why a Tweet from anyone about the CBN closing down PalmPay and other fintechs like it would cause worry.

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