Paystack Microfinance Bank launches in Nigeria, offering lending, deposits, and banking-as-a-service for businesses and consumers
Paystack Inc., the Nigerian fintech owned by Stripe, has formally entered the banking sector with the acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank, marking a decade-long shift from payment processing to full-scale financial services.
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The newly acquired Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB) will initially provide business loans before expanding to consumer lending.
The bank will also offer banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and treasury management solutions to companies building financial products, according to Amandine Lobelle, Paystack’s Chief Operating Officer.
“After 10 years of building payment infrastructure, we realised businesses needed more than just getting paid to grow,” Lobelle said.
“Paystack MFB allows us to address some of the pain points that businesses face while leveraging our decade of expertise.”
Paystack MFB will operate independently alongside Paystack Payments under their American parent company, maintaining separate licences, governance structures, and product offerings.
The arrangement allows the fintech to test lending and deposit services without the full scrutiny and cost of a commercial banking licence.
Since launching its consumer payments app, Zap, in 2025, Paystack has sought greater control over funds flowing through its network.
The microfinance bank now enables the company to offer tailored banking solutions to more than 300,000 Nigerian businesses and expand margins on each transaction.
“By combining the rapid innovation of a tech-first platform with the stability of traditional banking, we’re creating a model that is both reliable and scalable,” Lobelle added.
The bank’s services will include working capital loans, merchant cash advances linked to revenue, overdrafts, and term loans.
Paystack will leverage real-time transactional data from its payment operations to underwrite credit, shorten approval times, and improve risk assessment.
Paystack MFB enters a competitive market alongside digital-first lenders such as Carbon, Fairmoney, Kuda, and embedded-finance platforms including OPay, Moniepoint, and PalmPay, while also positioning itself against traditional microfinance banks like LAPO, Accion, and Baobab.
The launch represents a structural shift in Paystack’s business model.
While the payments arm relied on partner banks like Titan Trust for settlement, Paystack MFB allows the company to control deposits and liquidity, unlocking opportunities in business lending previously limited by reliance on third-party banks.
Lobelle confirmed that Paystack MFB will operate independently from Brass, the business bank acquired by a Paystack-led consortium, and partnerships with other commercial banks will continue unaffected.
Also read: FCT court freezes N7.15bn in Parallex Bank dispute
The initiative reflects Paystack’s strategy to address Nigeria’s $32 billion small business financing gap, combining reliable payments infrastructure with in-house lending capabilities.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
