Nigeria’s fintech landscape is set to change as Paystack, the Stripe-owned payments giant, officially steps into banking. The company has acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank, creating Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB), a move that gives it greater control over the funds flowing through its network after a decade focused primarily on payment processing.
Paystack MFB will initially focus on lending to businesses before gradually expanding to consumers. The bank will also provide banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and treasury management solutions, helping other companies build their financial products. “After 10 years of building payment infrastructure, we realized businesses needed more than just getting paid to grow,” said Amandine Lobelle, Paystack’s Chief Operating Officer.
This expansion builds on Paystack’s consumer push, which began last year with its Zap app. The acquisition allows the fintech to operate independently from its payments business while still collaborating under the same parent company. The structure limits regulatory exposure while enabling Paystack to test deposit and lending products without the scrutiny of a full commercial banking license.
By owning a banking license, Paystack can now offer a full financial stack—from payments to deposits and credit—directly to its 300,000 business customers in Nigeria. The microfinance bank will provide working capital loans, merchant cash advances, overdrafts, and term loans, leveraging live payment data to underwrite credit faster and more accurately than traditional lenders.
With this strategic move, Paystack positions itself alongside Nigeria’s leading fintechs and digital-first banks, including Kuda, Carbon, and Fairmoney, while differentiating itself by approaching banking from the infrastructure layer up. Lobelle emphasized that the company’s core payments partnerships remain unchanged, but Paystack MFB gives the fintech the ability to offer tailored banking solutions, increase revenue margins, and reduce reliance on partner banks.
source: techcabal