CSCS Boosts Investor Sign-ups for Better Market Access

The Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has announced enhancements to its investor onboarding processes aimed at improving efficiency, strengthening service delivery, and enhancing the overall experience for participants in the Nigerian capital market.

The enhancements are designed to support faster account creation, improve the processing of investor data, and enable more seamless interaction across market participants, including exchanges, brokers, registrars, commercial banks, fintech companies, and other operators.

As part of these improvements, CSCS is implementing upgrades to its Account Opening System (AOS), alongside additional services and support to ensure stakeholders can transition smoothly and benefit from a more efficient onboarding framework.

The enhancements will also provide clearer processes for obtaining and retrieving Clearing House Numbers (CHN), improved system performance, and better integration across the market ecosystem. Stakeholders will continue to receive timely updates on system enhancements, operational changes, and any scheduled downtime as the initiative progresses.

Speaking on the initiative, the managing director/chief executive officer of CSCS, Shehu Shantali, stated, “these enhancements reflect our continued commitment to improving the efficiency of the Nigerian capital market and delivering better service to our stakeholders. By strengthening our onboarding processes and support framework, we are enabling easier access to the market and positioning it for sustained growth.”

The divisional head, Business Technology & Digital Innovation, Tobe Nnadozie, highlighted the operational impact, saying “the enhancements to our onboarding systems are focused on delivering greater speed, reliability, and scalability. Beyond the technology, we are also ensuring that stakeholders have the necessary support and guidance to navigate these improvements seamlessly.”

CSCS will continue to engage stakeholders through structured communication, technical onboarding sessions, and industry sensitization initiatives to ensure readiness and alignment as the initiative progresses.

The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, including the Nigerian Exchange Group, some of the largest banks in Nigeria, private equity firms, investment banks and other corporate and individual shareholders. With over two decades of operation, serving as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market, CSCS has been pivotal to the growth and transformation of the capital market, including its audacious full dematerialization of share certificates and shortening of the settlement cycle in the capital market.

CSCS serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds (such as the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond), Equity-traded Funds, Real estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.