The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday at the CBN's headquarters in Abuja to combat digital fraud through enhanced data sharing. Dr Aminu Maida, NCC's executive vice chairman/CEO, and Mr Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, sealed the pact aimed at strengthening consumer protection across telecom and financial services. The agreement establishes two joint committees: one on payment systems and consumer protection, and another overseeing the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS). TIRMS is a new platform that enables banks and financial institutions to monitor the status of mobile numbers used in transactions, including whether they have been recycled, swapped, disconnected, or flagged for suspicious activity. This is intended to curb fraud linked to SIM swap scams and unauthorized access to bank accounts. Maida said the system will improve fraud detection and response, especially as digital transactions grow nationwide. He cited the recent resolution of the USSD debt crisis as evidence of successful past collaboration between the two regulators. The MoU also aims to speed up resolution of customer complaints, such as failed airtime or payment transactions, through better coordination. Cardoso stated the agreement will support innovation, technical standards alignment, and sandbox testing for new financial products. He affirmed the CBN's commitment to a safer, more inclusive financial system.
Aminu Maida highlights past success in resolving the USSD debt crisis, yet the need for a new anti-fraud system suggests those fixes did not prevent recurring vulnerabilities. The launch of TIRMS implies that telecom and financial regulators failed to close known loopholes earlier, despite shared oversight. Millions of Nigerians using mobile banking remain exposed to SIM swap risks that the system now promises to detect in real time. If the data-sharing framework depends on timely action, past delays in coordination may have already cost users money and trust.
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