Nigerian fintech giant Paystack has taken a major step into the country’s banking industry following the acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank, signalling its transition from a payment services company into a full financial services provider.
The move gives the Stripe-owned company direct access to deposits and lending, positioning it to offer broader financial products to small and medium-sized businesses across Nigeria.
With the deal, Paystack will operate a new entity known as Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB), which will initially focus on providing credit facilities to businesses before rolling out consumer banking services in phases. The bank will also support companies building financial tools through banking-as-a-service offerings.
The development marks a strategic shift for the company after nearly a decade of building payment infrastructure for Nigerian businesses and startups.
Brandspur Banking News Desk understands that Paystack’s entry into banking is aimed at closing the persistent financing gap faced by small businesses, many of which struggle to access loans through traditional financial institutions.
Paystack’s Chief Operating Officer, Amandine Lobelle, said the decision was driven by the company’s deep exposure to business operations and revenue patterns.
She noted that after years of enabling businesses to receive payments seamlessly, it became clear that access to credit, financial management tools, and reliable banking services remained major barriers to growth.
The company plans to use its existing transaction data and payment flows to design lending products such as overdrafts, working capital loans, and merchant cash advances, allowing it to assess risk in real time rather than relying solely on conventional financial records.
Paystack MFB will run as a separate entity from Paystack’s payments business, with independent licences, governance structures, and product lines, although both will operate under the same parent group. This structure allows Paystack to explore lending and deposit services without applying for a full commercial banking licence.
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The fintech currently processes payments for over 300,000 businesses every month, giving it a large data pool to build credit models tailored to Nigeria’s informal and semi-formal economy.
The move places Paystack in direct competition with established microfinance banks such as LAPO, Accion, and Baobab, as well as digital finance platforms including Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and Kuda.
Unlike digital banks that began with savings products before introducing lending, Paystack is entering the market from the infrastructure layer, using payment data as the foundation for financial services delivery.
The acquisition also follows Paystack’s recent consumer initiatives, including the launch of its Zap app, as the company broadens its footprint across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
Despite the expansion, Paystack confirmed that its existing partnerships with commercial banks remain intact, and that other fintechs will still be able to access its services independently.
The company said Paystack MFB will also provide backend banking services to other platforms building financial products, strengthening its role in Nigeria’s embedded finance space.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had fined Paystack ₦250 million in 2025 over regulatory issues related to its Zap product, but the approval of Paystack MFB indicates renewed regulatory confidence in the company’s compliance framework.
With the acquisition, Paystack is positioning itself to control more of the financial value chain, deepen its relationship with merchants, and build a banking platform aligned with the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
