The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted Flutterwave a microfinance banking license, which allow the fintech, Africa's most valuable by valuation, to operate within the country's banking sector.
- •The license means the company can hold funds and deposits directly, instead of partnering with other commercial banks to access national clearing and settlement systems.
- •The development follows several other license approvals, with some fintechs choosing the acqusition route: in January, for example, Stripe-owned fintech Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank in Nigeria.
- •Nigerian fintech Monepoint also completed its acquisition of Kenya's Sumac Microfinance Bank in March.
"With this banking licence in Nigeria, we are stepping into the core of the system. From enabling transactions to managing them end to end. From relying on external infrastructure to building with control over how money moves, settles, and is accessed," the company said in a statement.
Flutterwave has said that it has processed more than 1 billion transactions and moved over $40 billion in value, since its founding a decade ago. In January, the company acquired Mono, a pioneer in open banking.
