THE CONFLUENCE OF FINTECH COMPANIES WITH RESPECT TO COMPETITION IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Fintech firms have fundamentally reshaped Nigeria’s financial sector by expanding digital payments, lending, and banking-like services, creating complex competition dynamics between incumbent banks, non-bank fintechs, and platform providers. This article examined these dynamics by mapping the regulatory and institutional architecture—including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC)—and analyzing market structure and conduct 
issues such as platform effects, network economies, data-driven advantages, interoperability, and payments infrastructure. Illustrative case studies of Moniepoint, PalmPay, payment aggregators, and digital lenders demonstrate how fintech growth can generate concentration risks, consumer harms, and structural barriers to entry. The paper further evaluates enforcement challenges, including multi-agency coordination, data access constraints, and market monitoring limitations, and proposes policy options to balance competition, innovation, and consumer protection. Recommendations focus on harmonizing regulatory oversight, enhancing real-time monitoring, implementing data portability and open-banking frameworks, and strengthening remedies, leniency, and whistleblower mechanisms tailored to the digital economy.