Following the final approval for a Payment Service Bank (PSB) license granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MTN Nigeria’s fintech subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) Limited, formally commenced operations in Nigeria.
MoMo PSB was granted final approval by the CBN in April 2022. This follows a successful pilot initiated on 16 May 2022, in commemoration of the launch of its GSM operations on 16 May 2001 and the listing by introduction on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on 16 May 2019.
A market activation took place Thursday 19 May at Oke-Arin market in Marina, Lagos, where traders were shown how to open a MoMo wallet, by simply dialling *671# on any network, send money to any mobile phone in the country as well as buy airtime/data and pay bills.
In addition to delivering a wide range of digitised payment services aimed at removing the friction from everyday payment associated with cash, MoMo wallets in the future will also enable account holders to receive inbound remittance from any country in the world; an important feature given Nigeria’s ranking as the destination for the highest remittance inflow in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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“We are grateful to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their support and guidance through the process. This is an important milestone for MTN Nigeria in our mission to support the delivery of financial services to everyone in Nigeria. Not just those in urban centres and markets, but also people in the rural and remote areas of the country who remain excluded from the financial system,” Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria stated.
With an expansive agent network of over 166,000 active agents and digitized partnership infrastructure, MoMo PSB is poised to enable millions of unbanked and underserved Nigerians to access a wide range of financial service product. According to Toriola, MoMo PSB will scale its agent network to reach Nigerians across the country, providing a wide range of payment services, and remove friction from everyday payment.
“Providing easy to use, accessible and affordable financial services to all Nigerians is essential to executing the CBN’s financial inclusion strategy and the digital inclusion agenda of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. We look forward to playing our part and are excited about the opportunities to partner with relevant institutions across various sectors to co-create and expand access nationwide,” Usoro Usoro, CEO, MoMo PSB stated.
Fausat Akinolu, the Iyaloja of Ifedapo Market, Oke-Arin, after sending money through her MoMo Wallet said, “I just sent money to my friend, Iya Ibeji, using just her phone number and the process was seamless. MoMo PSB is indeed better than cash and I want everyone to know that they can just dial *671# to open their own wallet”.
