…Restates strong commitment to enabling Africa’s
payment ecosystem.
Interswitch Group (‘Interswitch’
or ‘The Company’), one of
Africa’s leading financial technology and integrated payments
solution providers has announced receipt
of a Payments Service
Holding Company (PSHC) License
issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This follows an earlier announcement by the CBN regarding new licensing categories for participants in the Nigerian
Payments System.
By virtue of this development, which was formally communicated on
Friday, January 13, 2023 by the apex bank, Interswitch essentially becomes one of the inaugural
licensees by the CBN in this category. According to the
regulator, the PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license
categories to set up a payments service holding company (PSHC). The activities of each of the PSHC subsidiaries operating within those respective licensing regimes are clearly
delineated, for clearer accountability, effective risk management and the
enablement of better regulatory oversight by the CBN.
The statement from Interswitch also outlines that Interswitch’s Group Holding Company
retains ownership of the PSHC in
Nigeria as well as its other
subsidiaries outside of Africa.
This recent development interestingly coincides with Interswitch’s
20th anniversary commemoration, which has seen the company cement its
position as a pioneering and integral enabler that has actively supported the growth and development of
fintech and payments progressively across Africa over the last 20 years.
It also serves
to reinforce Interswitch’s progressive outlook as a frontier-driving company which keeps
pushing boundaries to facilitate the creation of new ecosystems that help businesses and individuals
scale and thrive, in line with its purpose of inspiring Africa to greatness
through innovation, value-creation
and excellence.
Commenting
on this development, Interswitch’s Founder and Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe
remarked that ‘Twenty years ago, we placed a bet on latent potential we saw in the
introduction of e-payment channels at
the time, particularly ATMs for the delivery of cash just-in-time, and today,
we are gratified to see how far the financial technology
and payment systems in Nigeria have grown. On the back of our receipt of this additional license, we remain
strongly committed to close partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria to facilitate the
delivery of the Payments Vision (2025) and of course, the National Financial
Inclusion Strategy.
Elegbe further reiterates Interswitch’s resolute focus on its over-arching mission
to continue championing
technology solutions that connect and empower individuals, businesses, and
communities across the continent.
Post a Comment