Airtel Africa’s Smartcash PSB Launches in Select Nigerian Cities

Airtel Africa’s subsidiary, SmartCash Payment Service Bank (SmartCash PSB), is bringing its digital financial services to select cities in Nigeria to further reach unbanked consumers there and expand the region’s digitization efforts, according to a Thursday (May 19) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

Airtel Africa CEO and Managing Director Segun Ogunsanya said in the release that bringing SmartCash PSB to Nigeria is the start of its “journey to revolutionize the financial services landscape in the country” while also helping the larger economy.

Ogunsanya added in the release that SmartCash PSB will deliver savings accounts and other financial services to the “millions of Nigerians” lacking access and will offer “payment and remittance services, debit and prepayment cards.”

Africa is a buzzing hot spot for attracting venture capital (VC) monies, with a record $5.2 billion invested in startups last year. That is close to a fivefold increase from 2020.

Read more: Venture Capital Firms Invested Record $5.2B in African Startups in 2021

Telecommunications and mobile money services Airtel Africa operates across 14 African countries. SmartCash PSB will at first be trialed at selected retail touch points in Nigeria, with plans to slowly grow operations across the country in the coming months, the release stated.

Airtel Africa’s footprint primarily falls across East, Central and West Africa. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Tanzania, the company offers an integrated suite of telecommunications and global mobile money services.

In other news from Africa, Farzam Ehsani, CEO at Johannesburg-based FinTech firm VALR, told PYMNTS in an interview that cryptocurrency has the potential to move money across borders faster and cheaper than current methods.

See more: Crypto Seen as Africa’s Cross-Border Payments ‘Game Changer’

Unbanked and underserved consumers with strong smartphone penetration have also turned to crypto beyond bank remittances.

VALR also said it is using its $50 million Series B funding for African expansion and into other emerging markets to further the company’s goal of creating an inclusive financial system for its global clients.