Fincra Receives Payment License From Central Bank of Nigeria

The Nigerian FinTech Fincra has received a payment license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 

In a blog post Thursday (Jan. 19), the company stated that it had received its commercial Payment Service Solution Provider (PSSP) license, following previous approval in principle from the CBN.

Fincra CEO Wole Ayodele said, “we are thrilled to have received this license from the Central Bank. This license is a huge step forward for us, and it opens up many new opportunities for growth and expansion for our customers and us.”

Headquartered in Toronto but focused on African markets and with offices in Lagos, Fincra offers a range of payment solutions for businesses, helping them to send and receive both domestic and international transactions via online and offline channels.

Of course, Fincra is not the only payment technology company to see an opportunity in Nigeria and the country has become a hotspot of FinTech innovation in recent years.

Some of the biggest names in African payments have emerged out of Nigeria, including Flutterwave, which in September secured a Switching and Processing License from the CBN.

Within the CBN’s payment systems licensing regime, a Switching and Processing License is the most comprehensive. It permits Flutterwave to offer its customers the full range of switching and card processing services and non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services.

For licensing purposes, the CBN distinguishes between different categories of services. These include payment solutions, mobile money services, and switching and processing.

Other FinTech companies that have been granted a Switching and Processing License from the CBN include Interswitch, Appzone, TeamApt (now Moniepoint), eTranzact, and Unified Payments.

Because it permits activities that otherwise only banks can carry out, there are stricter requirements for FinTechs that want a Switching and Processing license.

For example, it has a much higher threshold for capital requirements of 2 billion nairas (About $4.4 million), compared to just 100 million nairas (about $220,000) for a PSSP license. 

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