L-R: Mitchell Elegbe, GMD / Founder, Interswitch Group; Nneka Onwuegbuche, Product Manager, Card Services, Zenith Bank Plc; Shamsudeen Fashola, Group Head Retail Banking, FCMB; Lanre Oladimeji, Group Head Retail Banking, Zenith Bank Plc; Margaret Okhoya, Product Manager Card Services, FCMB and Mike Ogbalu III, CEO, Verve International during the Verve Global Card launch and First Transaction at Emperor Retail Outlet in Dubai, UAE
Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading financial technology and integrated payments solution providers, has announced the receipt of a payments service holding company (PSHC) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This follows an earlier announcement by the CBN regarding new licensing categories for participants in the Nigerian payments system.
Owing to the development, which was formally communicated recently, Interswitch essentially became one of the inaugural licensees by the CBN in this category.
According to the regulator, the PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license categories to set up a PSHC.
The activities of each of the PSHC subsidiaries operating within those respective licensing regimes are delineated for clearer accountability, effective risk management, and the CBN’s enablement of better regulatory oversight.
A statement by the company outlines that Interswitch’s Group Holding Company retains ownership of the PSHC in Nigeria as well as its other subsidiaries outside of Africa.
This development interestingly coincides with Interswitch’s 20th-anniversary commemoration, which has seen the company cement its position as a pioneering and integral enabler that has actively supported the growth and development of fintech and payments progressively across Africa over the last 20 years.
It also serves to reinforce Interswitch’s progressive outlook as a frontier-driving company that keeps pushing boundaries to facilitate the creation of new ecosystems that help businesses and individuals scale and thrive, in line with its purpose of inspiring Africa to greatness through innovation, value-creation, and excellence.
Commenting on this development, Interswitch’s Founder and Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe, noted: “Twenty years ago, we placed a bet on the latent potential we saw in the introduction of e-payment channels at the time, particularly ATMs for the delivery of cash just-in-time, and today, we are gratified to see how far the financial technology and payment systems in Nigeria have grown. On the back of our receipt of this additional license, we remain strongly committed to a close partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria to facilitate the delivery of the Payments Vision (2025) and course, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.”
Elegbe also reiterated Interswitch’s resolute focus on its over-arching mission to continue championing technology solutions that connect and empower individuals, businesses, and communities across the continent.
