Ziggy Ojiegbe
Paystack, a leading digital payments company with a strong footprint in Nigeria’s financial services market, is planning to expand beyond payments into retail banking and consumer finance as unmet demand continues to create new growth opportunities across the fintech sector.
The company is set to roll out a new group of businesses that will support its expansion into banking and broader financial services for African consumers and businesses, according to a report by Semafor. The report was reviewed as part of a media survey by Oracle Intelligence.
As part of the expansion, Paystack has established a holding company, The Stack Group, which will oversee its core payments business alongside new ventures, including a money transfer service, a microfinance bank, and a research and development arm.
The move comes five years after Paystack was acquired by US fintech firm Stripe in a deal valued at $200 million.
Paystack acknowledged that it is entering an increasingly competitive market, with companies such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, and OPay having launched digital banking and consumer finance services in recent years.
Despite the competition, significant growth potential remains. About 42 percent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa are unbanked, according to industry estimates, presenting a large addressable market for digital financial services.
Improving digital infrastructure, faster internet connectivity, falling smartphone costs, and rapid population growth across Africa are also accelerating the adoption of fintech solutions, with the continent adding new consumers at a faster rate than most other regions of the world.
