CBN grants GTCO final approval for its payment subsidiary, HabariPay Limited

Guaranty Trust Holding (GTCO) Plc has announced the receipt of final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its wholly-owned payment subsidiary, HabariPay Limited.

The statement signed by the Group Company Secretary/General Counsel and obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) noted that all regulatory approvals have been obtained for the commencement of operations of the company.

What they are saying

Commenting on the new subsidiary, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO Plc said: “Payments are central to the development of financial services globally and represent a key growth area for the Group.

“GTCO Plc has been at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge innovative solutions with its banking franchise and would leverage this capacity to transform the evolving payment space. with HabariPay, we have successfully created more value for our stakeholders.“

He stated further that, “Our vision is an Africa where every payment is digital, and we hope to achieve this by increasingly leveraging technology to improve access to financial devices for individuals and empower businesses across Africa with the right digital tools to thrive”

What you should know

• The new subsidiary will serve to expand GTCO Plc’s range of services to largely underserved markets in support of the CBN’s financial inclusion drive and contribute to the resilience of the global payment ecosystem.
• According to the apex bank, the key objective of issuing PSB licenses is to boost financial inclusion, especially in rural areas and facilitate transactions.
• The CBN had earlier granted final approval for Airtel subsidiary, SMARTCASH Payment Service Bank limited (‘Smartcash’) to operate a Payment Service Bank (‘PSB’) in Nigeria.
• The CBN had also in April, granted MTN the final approval to operate as Momo Payment Service Bank Limited (Momo PSB).