Ugonna Akah is the Chief Compliance Officer at Moniepoint, where he leads the institution’s Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) functions. He oversees enterprise-wide regulatory compliance, implements risk-based controls to safeguard financial system integrity, and ensures alignment with local and international standards.

Previously, he spent over a decade at the Central Bank of Nigeria, serving as a Bank and Payment Systems Examiner. In that role, he developed and implemented a risk-based supervisory framework for payment service providers, led on-site and off-site AML/CFT examinations, and strengthened compliance culture across regulated institutions through stakeholder engagement and policy enforcement.

Leveraging his specialized experience in payment and settlement systems, financial market infrastructure, and government regulations, he also contributed to the design and execution of the Payment System Vision 2020 (PSV2020) and its successor, PSV2025 – initiatives that modernized Nigeria’s payments ecosystem, deepened financial inclusion, and fostered innovation. He contributed to the design of critical regulatory frameworks, including the RTGS rules, mobile money guidelines, and the Payments System Risk and Information Security Management Framework.

Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance and Business Economics, Ugonna is a respected voice on the evolving landscape of electronic payments, open banking while offering authoritative insights into the challenges of regulatory oversight, and the future of digital finance in Africa’s largest economy. His work reflects a deep commitment to compliance innovation and building resilient, inclusive financial systems.