Collins Esohwode, an undergraduate of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, has narrated how Opay, a Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed financial technology company, denied him access to his account for losing his SIM card.

The student explained to FIJ that he lost access to the SIM card connected to his account on March 3, 2023. This, he said, prevented him from receiving the one-time passwords the firm usually sends to him to log in to his account.

He said his effort to retrieve the lost SIM card was unsuccessful and that he asked OPay for help.

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“I lost my phone on March 3 and all efforts to retrieve the SIM card failed. With this loss, I lost access to my OPay accounts and other accounts linked to the phone number. Thus, I contacted the bank for assistance,” Esohwode explained to FIJ.

Esohwode said that despite providing all the proof requested of him by the bank, it did not make his account accessible or move his money to a newly created wallet.

“On March 17, I went to the OPay office in Mokola, Ibadan, to lay my complaint. They asked me to create a new account, upgrade it to Tier 3 and provide two separate court-sworn affidavits instructing them to move my fund in the old account to the new one,” he said.

“I have a total of N137,810.57 in the old wallet. Alongside the affidavit, I submitted a copy of my voter card via their customer email address. Since this problem started, I have visited their physical location in Ibadan three times, yet they are not forthcoming with a response.

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“Whether the bank will have a look at my complaint soon, I don’t know, but I am fed up. As I speak, all of this has not returned any positive result. This is affecting my upkeep and academic needs on campus.”

Commenting on the complaint, Femi Hanson, OPay communications lead, told FIJ on Thursday that the bank would examine Esohwode’s complaint and resolve it as quickly as possible.

“Our customer service department would look at the complaint and they would reach out to the customer before the close of business. Thank you,” Hanson said.