How to Obtain Money Lenders License in Lagos State, Nigeria
A money lender looking to operate in Nigeria must navigate a regulated framework that governs loan services across the country. With Nigeria being a leading Fintech hub in Africa, we…
Goldsmiths Solicitors – Legal Recap for the Year 2023
2023 was election year in Nigeria. It therefore was no surprise that we saw a lot of activities in the legal space in Nigeria, not least in the enactment of new laws, handing down of judicial decisions and the like. In our 2023 legal recap, we have highlighted some of the major legal, regulatory, and judicial changes that occurred. This recap is divided into four parts representing four quarters of the year. In each quarter, we deal with all the major legal changes that occurred therein.
Better Late than Never: Nigeria Finally Passes the Data Protection Act
On 12 June 2023, the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (“the Act”) was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Act provides a legal framework for the protection…
How to Obtain a Payment Solution Service Providers Licence in Nigeria
A Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP) licence is a financial licence within the payments system which is issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). A PSSP licence authorizes the licensee to provide and operate payment processing gateway and portals, solution/application development, and merchant service aggregation and collections services. A PSSP license does not provide the authorization to hold customers’ funds or create and issue wallets. PSSPs are predominantly Financial Technology (FinTech) companies that enable and facilitate online and offline payments solutions which include collections, check-out, biller aggregation and payout services.
An Overview of CBN’s Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in Nigeria
By a Circular dated 7th March 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the “Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in Nigeria” (‘the Guidelines’). The Guidelines set out rules for sharing the data/information of customers between participants in the open banking system. Although not defined in the Guidelines, open banking system may be defined as the exchange of the data of an entity’s customers with other entities for the purpose of providing innovative financial services.
An Overview of the Central Bank of Nigeria Exposure Draft Guidelines on Contactless Payments in Nigeria
On 25 October 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the Exposure Draft Guidelines on Contactless Payments in Nigeria (the Guidelines). The Guidelines were released by CBN in line…
An Overview of the Central Bank of Nigeria Exposure Draft Guidelines for the Regulation of Representative Offices of Foreign Banks in Nigeria
On 12 October 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released an exposure draft Guidelines for the Regulation of Representative Offices of Foreign Banks in Nigeria (the Guidelines). The Guidelines…
Overview of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Credit Guarantee Companies in Nigeria
On 28 March 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued the Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Credit Guarantee Companies (CGCs) in Nigeria. The Guidelines are expected to…
Non-Resident Foreign Companies doing Business in Nigeria must now Register for VAT in Nigeria
A Review of the Nigerian Finance Act 2021: On 31 December 2021, the Nigerian President signed the Finance Act 2021 (the Act) into law. The Act came into effect on…
Goldsmiths Solicitors – Legal Recap for the Year 2021
2021 was an incredibly busy and exciting year in the Nigerian legal and regulatory landscape. There were major and far-reaching changes in the legal and regulatory frameworks relating to Oil…