- The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted a banking licence to Flutterwave
- The licence allows Flutterwave to expand beyond payments into full financial services
- Businesses can now access banking tools, manage funds, and scale operations on one platform
- The company also plans to offer services like accounts, lending, payroll, and multi-currency operations
The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted a banking licence to Flutterwave, marking a significant shift in the fintech firm’s operations from payment processing to full-scale financial services.
The approval enables Flutterwave to expand its offerings beyond payments, allowing businesses to access banking tools, manage funds, and scale operations seamlessly across Africa from a single platform.
The development follows the company’s disclosure that it has processed over $40 billion in transactions over the past decade, underscoring its rapid growth and dominance in Africa’s fintech space.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Olugbenga Agboola, described the licence as a defining moment in the company’s journey.
“Today, Flutterwave announces a Nigerian banking license. It is a defining step in our 10-year journey to build the financial infrastructure powering Africa’s future.
“A decade ago, we started with a simple belief: better infrastructure changes everything. Payments failed too often, settlement was slow, and expanding meant rebuilding from scratch. So we focused on connecting what was fragmented,” the CEO said.
Founded in 2016, Flutterwave initially focused on simplifying cross-border payments but has since expanded into multiple African markets, becoming one of the continent’s most influential fintech firms.
The newly secured licence comes shortly after the company’s acquisition of Mono, a move aimed at strengthening financial connectivity and data integration across its ecosystem.
Agboola noted that the company is now positioned to offer a unified financial platform with a broader range of services.
“With the acquisition of Mono earlier this year, we deepened that connectivity. Now we are going further by building a unified platform where businesses can open accounts, accept and send payments, manage payouts, run payroll, and operate across currencies in one place, with access to lending and working capital powered by real transaction data,” he explained.
He added that the milestone gives Flutterwave greater control over its operations and future direction.
“We can now build, innovate and solve customer problems faster than before because we now control the value chain of payments in Nigeria. Our destiny is now in our hands.”
The move highlights a growing convergence between fintech companies and traditional banking institutions, as demand rises for integrated digital financial solutions across Africa.