E-Settlement (E-SL), Nigeria’s pioneering fintech group, is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement to acquire QuickCash, an Ivorian electronic payment and money transfer company promoting financial inclusion of rural populations and those operating in the informal sectors of Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo and more.

QuickCash, a leading provider of financial, agricultural, and educational digital services, was established in 2010. The company provides innovative, simple, and accessible products that extend the reach of financial services to underserved populations, particularly those living within rural areas with less frequent access to electricity or mobile phone connectivity.

The deal will extend E-SL’s payment service offering, supporting the intent to expand its footprint across the continent and grow the group’s agent banking network to 200,000 agents by the end of 2022. With the acquisition, QuickCash will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary.

E-SL established first of its kind payment solutions in Nigeria, including CashEnvoy, the mobile point of sale (MPOS) solution PayPad, and the transformational agent banking platform, PayCentre. The new move leverages E-SL’s technical expertise and deep sector knowledge to strengthen QuickCash’s agency infrastructure – deepening its coverage of the West Africa region and Francophone West African markets.

Africa’s large population drives the region’s surge in smartphone adoption, internet penetration, and the prominence of agency banking and mobile money. As a testament to the market’s demand for financial services, 64% of the US$ 2.1 billion transacted daily across the globe through mobile money platforms in 2020 were in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise in agency banking due to the temporary closure of bank branches. As a result, demand for agency banking in Africa has risen exponentially, reinforcing digital access, which facilitates the receipt of transfers and funds and empowers Africa’s small-scale entrepreneurs and MSMEs operating as agents – creating financial access at scale.

Unequal distribution of ATMs and other issues such as the frequent inability to dispense funds and other dispensing errors render many ATMs unreliable. Therefore, E-SL is rolling out its growth strategy to cater to the banking needs of harder-to-reach and non-urban areas currently underserved. The group aims to rapidly increase QuickCash’s agents in countries of operation – encouraging the inclusion of underbanked populations in West Africa’s financial system.

Commenting on this announcement, Olaoluwa Awojoodu, CEO, E-Settlement, said: “QuickCash is deepening access for agricultural-dominated areas, rural populations, the underbanked and unbanked: the disproportionately financially excluded. We are very excited to join forces with a game-changing provider that aligns with our mission and purpose and is committed to unlocking potential and prosperity among the underserved. At E-SL, we want to empower all by accelerating access to payments, financial services, and jobs. We are confident that our expansion plan for QuickCash will support the company’s long-term growth and enhance our collective ability to deliver positive impact to many more.”

Patricia Zoundi Yao, CEO, QuickCash, said: “We believe that E-Settlement Limited has the right vision and deep expertise to drive QuickCash’s geographic expansion and next stage of growth. E-SL is a leading payment services provider with a strong position in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem. The success story of agency banking in Nigeria cannot be told without E-SL, and this makes them the best fit to build on the success we have achieved so far.”