After four years of providing credit through a loan app, FairMoney has evolved to a digital bank following its Microfinance Bank (MfB) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
When it launched in Nigeria in 2017 it started as a mobile app that uses alternative smartphone data to underwrite collateral-free microcredit in Africa’s most populous nation.
The Fintech company said it started with its lending products because it realised that there was a huge gap in the market. It said Nigerians within a certain demographic could not access credit facilities to power their businesses and lives, especially through traditional financial institutions.
Intending to use technology to give access to Nigeria’s over 40 million unbanked population, the loan company obtained a microfinance bank licence and has introduced secure and innovative technology processes to improve its lending operations, as well as a strong privacy protection policy, and a comprehensive loan collection policy which has been successfully deployed in the last 4 years.
“This micro-finance license now enables us to open current accounts for our users, and we’re doing that on quite a big scale,” Laurin Hainy, CEO & Co-Founder at Fairmoney said.
Read also: Microfinance Banks lend N1.012trn in 16yrs – Ex-CBN Director
According to Hainy the digital bank is using the existing infrastructure it has built to deliver a customer-facing service to solve the customers’ financial needs in Nigeria.
“We realized that we could achieve more impact and deliver more value for Nigerians, and this year we have evolved from a quick loan app into a fully-fledged digital bank, as we recently acquired our Microfinance Bank License from the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
As part of its banking offerings, Fairmoney provides salary accounts that help people manage their funds better, and bank account holders have access to several benefits including; 100 free bank transfers monthly with no transaction fees.
The bank recently introduced its physical debit card that enables Fairmoney customers to do more with their funds, in the most convenient way possible.
“We believe that all Nigerians deserve more and at FairMoney, we are providing them with the tools to achieve more financially,” the digital bank said.
In addition to its recent product offerings, the bank said its customers are to expect even more exciting updates over the next couple of months.
“Our approach to serving the needs of as many Nigerians as possible involves providing millions of Nigerians with loans and capital to meet their immediate needs and in some cases, to grow their businesses, and so far, we have acquired over 5 million happy users, 2 million bank accounts, and disbursed over N117billion loans since inception,” the CEO of the digital bank said.
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