IFIS Obtains CBN Final Approval, Crosses the 10,000 Agents’ Mark

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted a Commercial Super-Agent license to Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services (IFIS), a subsidiary of Interswitch Group. IFIS has fulfilled all Approval-in-Principle requirements and has a business mandate to grow an active Agent Network of 150,000 by 2020. Trading as Quickteller Paypoint, IFIS aims to increase the availability of digital financial services in financially-excluded locations in Nigeria from 44% to over 70% in five years. Quickteller Paypoint has now crossed a symbolic milestone by breaking the 10,000 activated agent mark. With this feat, Quickteller Paypoint now has the second largest agent network in Nigeria.

Confirming the license update, Divisional CEO, IFIS, Mike Ogbalu commented,

“With excitement, we are proud to announce this feat. We are conscious of the fact that work is only just starting. We would not be resting on our oars and remain fully dedicated to our cause and business mandate. By way of investment in people and technology, we continue to reaffirm our commitment to this ambitious project. We understand the essence of financial inclusion and the impact on national development. With our 10,000 strong agent network, we are well-positioned to serve the nooks and crannies.

Working closely with governments at various levels and international agencies, IFIS is set to take its services deeper into the rural communities while creating new entrepreneurs and enhancing existing SMEs.

We express genuine appreciation to all of our esteemed agents (10,000 and counting), our valuable partners, stakeholders and the CBN for believing in our vision. We will continue to upgrade our systems and security measures in line with developments in the payments industry. As a licensed super-agent with a high sense of responsibility and professionalism, we will continue to abide by the regulatory framework.

Quickteller Paypoint is fully plugged into the Financial Inclusion Week (October 30 – November 3, 2017) towards building a more inclusive financial ecosystem. With new products and partnerships, we will continue to empower our agents and customers alike. Quickteller Paypoint understands the pain points of the underserved and unbanked Nigerians and is designed to digitize cash and commoditize access to financial services. Its value proposition cuts across entrepreneurs, artisans, small shop owners, traders, supermarkets, trade associations, retail chains, government agencies and service providers.

Quickteller Paypoint is premised on shared prosperity which is an interesting platform for economic growth. In the simplest terms, it can be translated to mean “mutual growth”.  Shop owners or existing businesses can earn additional income by adding an array of payment services to their existing bouquet. Commercial and microfinance banks, Telcos, Cable TV providers, Betting companies, Discos, Insurers, Government Agencies etc can deepen penetration for their business by expanding into communities that hitherto, were relatively unreachable.

Quickteller Paypoint offers bill payments, airtime recharge, money transfers, deposits, withdrawals, government payments, lottery winnings and more.

Interswitch has been known since its launch in 2002 to be one of the strongest proponents of the attainment of a truly cashless society and has been known to push the boundaries of technology in achieving this. The company in 2014 was listed by Deloitte as the fastest growing tech company in Africa with a year-on-year growth rate of over 1500%.

Interswitch has also made considerable inroads into the East African market with the acquisition of Paynet Kenya alongside a strategic partnership with KCB Bank across several East African countries.