Central Bank of Nigeria grants licenses to 3 Payment Service Banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted final approval to the 3 Payment Service Banks that were given the approval-in-principle last year. They are:

1. 9 PSB Ltd
2. Hope PSB Ltd
3. Moneymaster PSB Ltd

The apex bank tweeted this today after releasing updated guidelines for licensing and regulation of Payment Service Banks in Nigeria yesterday.

This means that these PSBs should start rolling out operations very soon. Surprisingly some mobile telecom operators that applied for the licence have not been given approval-in-principle but they are anxiously waiting in the wings.

These telcos like MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria have rolled out their mobile money operations in anticipation of getting PSBs licences thereafter.

It is hoped that these PSBs that have gotten final approval will help to reduce the number of Nigerians that do not have access to financial services.

The key objective of setting up PSBs is to enhance financial inclusion by increasing access to deposit products and payment/remittance services to small businesses, low-income households and other financially excluded entities through high volume low-value transactions in a secured technology-driven environment.