MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa Plc have been granted preliminary license to establish a payment service bank (PSB) in the nation.
On Friday, the two big carriers made regulatory filings on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
PSB operators provide financial services to low-income earners and others who do not utilize banks or banking institutions for transactions using digital methods.
Airtel’s PSB will be Smartcash Payment Service Bank Limited, while MTN’s PSB will be MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited.
The goal is to increase the number of individuals who have access to financial services.
According to EFInA, around 36% of the adult population in Nigeria, or 38 million persons, do not have access to financial services.
“I am really glad that Smartcash has been granted an approval in principle to run a service bank business in Nigeria,” stated Segun Ogunsanya, CEO of Airtel Africa.
We will now work closely with the Central Bank to ensure that all of the prerequisites for receiving the operating licence and starting operations are met.
“The final operating licence will enable us to expand our digital financial products and reach the millions of Nigerians that do not have access to traditional financial services. I am looking forward to working closely with the Government, the Central Bank and traditional financial institutions to expand financial inclusion and meet the evolving needs of our customers and the economy.”
Uto Ukpanah, company secretary at MTN Nigeria, said, MTN Nigeria remained optimistic that it would eventually get the PSB licence.
“This is the first step in a long process that would lead to eventual approval. In other words, MTN Nigeria would be required to fulfil a number of conditions, even as ‘the decision to issue a final approval is firmly within the regulatory purview of the CBN’,” the statement reads.
“MTN Nigeria expressed optimism that it would eventually get the PSB license, and reaffirmed its commitment to the financial inclusion agenda of the CBN in Nigeria.”
TheCable understands that the two firms would be required to fulfil some conditions before CBN will grant an operating license.
In 2020, CBN granted licences to Moneymaster PSB, a subsidiary of Glo and 9PSB, a subsidiary of 9mobile.
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