Why Flutterwave Secured The Switching And Processing License In Nigeria
The Pan African payment technology company enables businesses worldwide to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through a platform that enables cross-border transactions via one API.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company a Switching and Processing License which is widely regarded as CBN’s most valuable payments processing license.
This license allows Flutterwave to offer transaction switching and card processing services to customers. Others include non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services.
The Switching and Processing license allows Flutterwave to enable transactions between banks, fintech and other financial institutions. The Company can also process card transactions, participate in agency banking and offer various payment services without any intermediary.
Before this license, Flutterwave operated with its Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licenses.
Olugbenga GB Agboola, the CEO and Founder, said: “This is big news for our customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders. It is an important milestone in our growth story. Building a thriving payments ecosystem in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, aligns with our goal of developing a world-class and secure payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.”
Oluwabankole Falade, Flutterwave’s Chief Regulatory and Government Affairs Officer, said: “We’re thrilled to have been issued this license after fulfilling all of the regulatory requirements. The application process was rigorous and included a detailed review of our operations as a business. As a switch, we have more responsibilities and will continue to work with Regulators to ensure we meet and exceed their expectations.”
Onyedikachim Nwankwo, Head of Product Marketing said: “The license will allow us to offer more services and explore more payment use cases for our ecosystem. With this license, we can offer more value to our customers while taking more control of our value chain to enable an improved payments experience for our enterprise, medium scale and retail customers.”
The application and review process by the CBN was a demanding and rigorous process that examined every aspect of Flutterwave’s business, including the company’s financial position.