OPay has been granted approval by a Federal High Court in Lagos to freeze customer bank accounts across thirty banks.
This measure aims to recover ₦714 million erroneously received by customers due to a system glitch. The glitch, which occurred from December 10, 2023, to March 4, 2024, allowed customers to benefit from transactions that were initially unsuccessful.
The issue began when a glitch in OPay’s transaction processing system, facilitated by the switching company Interswitch, caused pending transactions to be marked as successful. Consequently, customers received funds without their accounts being debited, leading to financial discrepancy.
Once the problem was identified, OPay initiated recovery efforts by contacting affected customers, particularly those who received amounts exceeding ₦500,000.
The company reached out via emails and phone calls, requesting these customers to fund their accounts so that the incorrect credits could be debited. Despite these efforts, only 10% of the total amount was recovered as some customers did not comply.
In response to the lack of cooperation from some customers, OPay sought legal intervention. The company filed an affidavit of urgency, and on June 28, 2024, the court granted orders to freeze the accounts of these customers.
This legal order allows OPay to request the thirty banks involved to restrict the affected accounts, ensuring that the erroneously credited funds can be recovered.
Financial institutions use specific response codes to categorize transactions. For OPay, ‘RC 09’ indicates a pending transaction where no debit is made. However, during the period of the glitch, these pending transactions were mistakenly settled as successful, causing widespread erroneous credits.
While OPay has been assertive in its recovery efforts and legal pursuit, the company has declined to comment further on the situation. The fintech giant remains focused on rectifying the financial discrepancies caused by the glitch and ensuring such issues are prevented in the future.
This incident points to the importance of solid transaction processing systems and the need for swift action when discrepancies arise.
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