The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally given an approval in principle towards the licensing of MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB) by MTN Nigeria.
MTN Group announced today that MTN Nigeria, as promoter, received an approval in principle dated 4 November 2021, from the CBN for its application to operate the proposed MoMo Payment Service Bank.
“This is the first step in the process towards a final approval, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions as stipulated by the CBN,” MTN informed investors.
The company affirmed its commitment towards financial inclusion agenda of the CBN and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
MTN added that it continues to explore means whereby it can contribute to its fulfilment.
“While we look forward to the eventual grant of the final PSB licence, we will continue to communicate material information in accordance with regulatory obligations and guidelines,” said MTN.
MTN and other companies have been awaiting their PSB licenses since the Nigerian Government first announced its willingness to issue them in 2018.
Yesterday, MTN reported that the Nigerian operation’s FinTech revenue grew by 54.7% as customers continued to increase their use of Xtratime and broader FinTech services.
The MoMo agent network continued to grow with the addition of over 234 000 registered
agents in the nine months, bringing the total number to approximately 630 000.
As a result, transaction volume in the nine months rose by more than three times to 93.3 million, led by an active subscriber base of 6.6 million, up 97.2% year-on-year.
“While we await the outcome of our payment service bank (PSB) licence application, we continue to expand our MoMo operations and explore other verticals to scale our fintech ecosystem,” the company said on Thursday.
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