Flutterwave, which describes itself as Africa's leading payments technology company, announced on 2 April 2026 that it has secured a Nigerian national microfinance banking licence. Bloomberg reported that the licence allows Flutterwave to operate as a national microlender and compete with banks for business.
The licence allows Flutterwave to hold deposits directly and reduces its dependence on the sponsorship model of operating through established banks; the company cited products including accounts, savings, working capital financing and merchant lending. The company said the licence would let it streamline money movement, accelerate settlement for merchants and speed up product innovation.
PAYMENTS SCALE UNDERPINS LICENSING CASE
The company says it has processed more than $40 billion in payments and enabled more than one billion transactions, with infrastructure reaching 34 African countries.
“This milestone allows us to make our infrastructure more efficient and deliver faster, more reliable financial services,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave's founder and chief executive.
A WIDER PRODUCT RANGE
The company said the licence would support product innovation and efficiency across consumer financial services, business tools, enterprise treasury infrastructure and developer platforms. Flutterwave was founded in 2016.
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