We’ve added Aku (aku.africa) as a new evergreen compliance listing on the RatEx42 Listings platform. This is part of our push to expand coverage of African payment rails—especially Nigeria, one of the most dynamic (and most frequently abused) cyberfinance markets.
The public profile captures Aku’s self-described positioning as a “payments-led digital bank,” including consumer and merchant features (cards, transfers, bill pay, QR-style acceptance).
Why we rated it ⚫ Under Review
Two things are true at the same time:
- There is a regulatory footprint we can point to:
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) publishes a list of payment service providers in which Akupay Services Limited appears under Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) authorisation. - There is an unverified whistleblower allegation we cannot yet validate:
We received a whistleblower tip alleging that Aku (or parties using Aku) may issue “Visa penalty letters” that are falsified (e.g., missing case IDs) and used to demand penalties in the ₦50,000–₦60,000 range. At this stage, RatEx42 has not reviewed the underlying documents (letters, emails, settlement instructions, or acquirer confirmation).
Because the allegation is serious and document-dependent—and because we still have verification gaps (ownership/UBO, partner acquirer, contractual penalty clauses)—the risk signal stays ⚫ Under Review for now.
Got to the Aku R42 Compliancde Profile
A key compliance nuance merchants should understand
Aku’s own pages state that Akupay Services Limited is licensed by the CBN and that the “Aku” brand is a trademark of Aku Fintech Services Ltd (Lagos).
But at least one Aku FAQ entry also claims Aku is a Microfinance Bank licensed by the CBN (with an RC number). That’s a materially different regulatory category than a PSSP—so merchants and partners should verify exactly which regulated entity they are contracting with and which licence applies to each product line.
(For context: legal commentary commonly notes that PSSP authorisation relates to payment processing and may not, by itself, imply deposit-taking or holding customer funds—details depend on the CBN framework and the firm’s operating model/partners.)
What to look at inside the listing
The listing is designed for ongoing updates and includes:
- Risk signal + confidence grade
- Key entity claims vs. what we can verify
- Ownership/UBO verification gaps
- Merchant due-diligence checklist (including how to validate any “penalty notice” via the acquiring chain)
- Update log and next scheduled checks
Call for Information (Whistle42)
If you have evidence about Aku / Akupay Services Limited / Aku Fintech Services Ltd—especially merchant contracts, settlement statements, alleged “penalty letters” (full headers), emails, bank/acquirer confirmations, CAC extracts, or regulator correspondence—please submit it via Whistle42.com (anonymous if needed). The fastest way to confirm or debunk the allegation is primary documentation plus upstream acquirer validation.
