Nigerian fintech powerhouse Paystack has officially entered the country’s banking sector with the acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank, marking a major strategic shift beyond its traditional payments business.
The newly acquired institution has been rebranded as Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB) and will operate as a regulated, independent entity under the Paystack group. This move gives Paystack a microfinance banking licence, enabling it to hold customer deposits, issue loans, and offer broader financial services that were previously unavailable under its payments-only licence.
Paystack, which was founded in 2015 and acquired by global payments firm Stripe in 2020, has spent nearly a decade building one of Africa’s leading payment platforms. The expansion into banking is aimed at addressing long-standing gaps in access to credit, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that often struggle to secure financing from traditional financial institutions.
According to Paystack’s Chief Operating Officer, Amandine Lobelle, the new microfinance bank will initially focus on lending to businesses, offering products such as working capital loans, merchant cash advances, overdrafts, and term loans. Over time, the bank may also expand into consumer lending and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) offerings that allow other companies to embed financial services into their products using Paystack’s licensed infrastructure.
Paystack MFB will operate separately from Paystack Payments Limited, with its own governance, licence, and product roadmap, although both entities will collaborate closely. This structure allows Paystack to innovate in the financial services space while maintaining regulatory clarity and operational focus.
Industry analysts say the acquisition positions Paystack to compete directly with existing digital lenders and microfinance institutions and traditional microfinance banks as competition in Nigeria’s fintech and financial services landscape intensifies.
By integrating banking services with its established payments ecosystem used by more than 300,000 businesses, Paystack aims to offer a more seamless financial experience for merchants and developers alike, combining transaction processing, deposit services, and credit provision under one umbrella.
