CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced the target at the launch of the Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV 2028), saying the apex bank wants to push financial inclusion to 95 per cent, up from current levels where a large share of Nigerian adults remain outside or at the edges of the formal economy.

“In 2023, a large number of Nigerian adults had access to financial services. Under Vision 2028, I would like to see this reach 95 per cent inclusion, meaning 15 million more market women, farmers, and young people will gain access to financial services,” Cardoso said.

The governor tied inclusion directly to poverty reduction, arguing that access to payment systems determines whether citizens can fully participate in the economy.

He said cash must no longer define that participation. “It is not enough for individuals to think, ‘I am fine, I can just use cash’. It is more than that,” he added, calling for a significant reduction in cash circulating outside the banking system.

Jimoh Itopa Musa, CBN director of Payments System Policynoted that Nigeria now has about two million banking agents nationwide, small business owners who have helped extend financial access into underserved communities.

He said PSV 2028 builds on this foundation, targeting the three barriers that have historically constrained inclusion: access, complexity, and trust.

CBN Deputy Governor Muhammad Sani Abdullahi added that the framework’s five pillars, infrastructure, inclusion, innovation, cross-border payments, and system integrity, reinforce each other.

“Infrastructure drives inclusion, inclusion drives adoption, and adoption fuels innovation and growth,” he said.

The programme, announced on April 2, brings open payments education into classrooms in North America, Europe, Australia and Africa.

It focuses on teaching students how to design systems that can work across different platforms, currencies and borders without the usual friction.

Today, payments are still split across multiple channels. Businesses usually rely on cash, cards, transfers and newer digital options, each with its own setup.

These systems rarely connect well. As a result, transactions that could be instant still take days, and costs is high.

The foundation is trying to change that through its Interledger Protocol, an open-source system designed to allow money to move freely between networks.

The idea is that different systems should talk to each other without limitations. If adopted widely, it could support digital payment infrastructure similar to national systems like India’s UPI or Brazil’s Pix, but with the added ability to work across borders.

Now, that thinking is being pushed into universities.

In Nigeria, Covenant University is introducing two courses focused on open payments and the Interledger system. Students will build real fintech tools through labs, hackathons and community projects aimed at improving financial access.

Across other regions, the approach varies but the goal stays the same. Some schools are embedding the coursework into business programmes.

Others are running internships, startup labs or research hubs. In South Africa, students are already building full payment applications as part of their final projects. In Kenya, the focus is on helping underbanked communities through student-led solutions.

In the United States, several historically Black colleges and universities are also involved. Students there are working on prototypes that address gaps in financial access while gaining practical experience.

The foundation says this is about building a pipeline of people who understand the limits of current systems and can improve them.

“The next generation of leaders has the opportunity to build payment systems that improve the closed, siloed systems of the past,” said Briana Marbury, president and CEO of the Interledger Foundation.

“Working with these universities, we have the opportunity to instil in students the knowledge and tools they need to design for interoperability from day one, so open payments become the standard, rather than the exception.”

This education drive sits within the organisation’s goal to expand open financial systems globally. It has already committed more than $21 million to over 200 projects in 42 countries, supporting developers, startups and researchers working on payment solutions.

More partnerships are expected as the foundation plans to open applications to additional schools later this year, as it looks to grow the programme and bring more students into the space.

Bringing structure and record-keeping to a system millions of Nigerians already use to meet daily financial needs, Thrifto is leveraging technology to enhance the process.

Across the country, people pool money together in rotating cycles and members contribute a fixed amount regularly, while the full sum goes to one participant at a time.

The system is still popular because it is simple and built on trust. However, problems like disagreements over payouts, poor record-keeping and missed contributions sometimes disrupt these groups. In some cases, people even lose their money.

To put an end to these, Thrifto has launched a web application that allows people to create and manage savings groups online.

Users can set contribution amounts, choose payout positions and agree on the duration of the savings cycle. The platform then keeps track of payments and schedules payouts for members.

The idea, according to founder Sulaimon Biodun Durojaiye, is not to replace the long-standing culture of cooperative savings but to make it more reliable.

“Group savings is deeply embedded in Nigerian culture,” he explains. “What we are doing with Thrifto is providing the structure, transparency, and accountability that technology can offer while preserving the collaborative spirit of ajo.”

The platform has already begun onboarding users across Nigeria. Many of the early participants include salary earners, small business owners and entrepreneurs who organise savings groups with colleagues, relatives and friends.

These groups usually save towards achievable goals. Some plan ahead for rent payments or school fees, others raise funds for business expansion or household purchases.

Digital records are also embedded in the platform. Each contribution is logged, and members can see the progress of their group in real time. This approach aims to reduce the disputes that often arise when records are kept informally.

Thrifto is also preparing another feature aimed at individuals who prefer saving alone.

The company plans to introduce a self-saving option next week. It will allow users to create structured personal savings plans and contribute at set intervals. Someone, for example, could choose to save ₦5,000 daily for a month or ₦50,000 every week over several months.

The platform will track the contributions and show progress towards the user’s target.

Durojaiye says the feature addresses a common problem many people face. “Many people want to save but struggle with consistency,” he says. “By allowing users to define their own saving rhythm, daily, weekly, or monthly, we’re helping them build financial discipline in a practical way.”

Another part of the system focuses on trust. Thrifto assigns each participant a Trust Score based on their activity and reliability within savings groups. Members who keep up with their contributions can build stronger ratings over time. The company says this record can help users decide who to partner with when forming new groups.

Rather than introducing a new financial habit, the platform builds on one Nigerians already know well.

Group savings have long served communities that lack easy access to formal banking. In moving the process online, Thrifto hopes to reduce disputes, improve accountability and bring more structure to a system that has operated informally for generations.

If platforms like this gain wider acceptance, they could also open a new path to financial inclusion for millions who still rely on cooperative savings to manage their money.

As the world grapples with climate change, social inequality, and economic uncertainty, organisations are recognising the importance of adopting sustainable practices that balance Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations.

In Nigeria, the sustainability agenda has become a mainstay, with companies like FirstBank leading the charge.

As the leading financial institution in West Africa, FirstBank has made significant strides in promoting sustainability /ESG, with notable achievements in renewable energy, financial inclusion, and environmental conservation.

The bank’s sustainability initiatives are anchored on three pillars: education, health and welfare; diversity and financial inclusion; and responsible lending, procurement, and climate initiatives.

One of the bank’s notable achievements is its investment in renewable energy. In 2025, FirstBank invested over $9 million in solar home projects across Africa, providing clean and affordable energy to communities.

The bank also supported modular power plants with over N15 billion, enhancing energy access and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Additionally, FirstBank fulfilled its three-year commitment with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) to plant 51,000 trees across Nigeria, promoting biodiversity preservation and absorbing approximately 720 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The bank’s sustainability initiatives extend beyond environmental conservation. Over 1 million students have been impacted with financial literacy skills, empowering them to make informed financial decisions and secure their futures.

The bank partnered with CFA Society Nigeria on the CFA Universities Ethics Challenge. It was also a major partner of the 15th Junior Achievement Company of the Year competition, presenting the FirstBank CEO award to Team Mauritius (Plantura).

FirstBank has also invested in leadership development for over 2,000 female employees through the FirstBank Women Network, promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The bank screened 340 corporate transactions for ESG risks worth almost ₦5 billion and $340 million for sustainability risks within the year, further integrating ESG considerations into its credit framework.

The bank’s commitment to sustainability earned it numerous international awards and recognitions, including Nigeria’s Best Bank for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) at the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025, for the second time in a row.

Its commitment to climate governance was demonstrated in its corporate membership of Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) Nigeria, where the bank is a member of the Advisory Board.

The bank is also part of the Steering Committee, overseeing operations and strategy. It participated in the Directors’ Engagement Series and led the adoption of IFRS S1 and S2 standards for transparent sustainability disclosures.

FirstBank has implemented these standards, enhanced board oversight via its Board Risk Management Committee, and integrated climate considerations into risk management and decision-making.

As FirstBank continues to drive sustainable development in Africa, its efforts serve as a model for other financial institutions to follow.

The bank’s achievements demonstrate that sustainability and business growth can go hand-in-hand, creating value for stakeholders and contributing to a more equitable and prosperous future.

Looking ahead, FirstBank plans to expand its sustainability efforts through strategic partnerships and innovative solutions.

The bank aims to increase its investment in renewable energy projects, expand its financial literacy programmes, and promote sustainable business practices.

This regulatory approval aligns with the apex bank’s ambitious target to scale monthly inward remittances to $1 billion by 2026. 

By authorising Finlogic to facilitate direct inward transfers, the CBN strives to capture private capital within the formal banking system, thereby supporting the stability of the Naira and enhancing national economic resilience.

The IMTO licensing allows Finlogic to operate with greater autonomy, bypassing traditional intermediaries to offer a more direct path for funds entering the country. 

This operational efficiency is expected to result in faster settlement cycles and improved pricing for the Nigerian diaspora, who remain a vital pillar of the nation’s financial stability.

Finlogic’s entry into the IMTO space is underpinned by its existing Money Services Business (MSB) licence from Canada. 

This dual-licence status establishes a secure, compliant corridor for North American inflows, ensuring that transactions meet the highest global standards of transparency and institutional security.

“Our commitment is to ensure that the contributions of Nigerians abroad are integrated into the domestic economy with absolute integrity,” said Joseph Afolabi, founder and CEO of Finlogic.

“This IMTO licence serves as a seal of trust, allowing us to provide a dependable gateway for inward transfers that directly contribute to Nigeria’s broader macroeconomic objectives.” 

Afolabi further emphasised that Finlogic’s seven-year trajectory has been defined by a focus on solving structural settlement challenges. 

“We have built a technology-led infrastructure designed to remove the friction associated with inward capital flows. By working closely with local banking partners, we are supporting the CBN’s mandate to maintain a transparent and robust foreign exchange market.”

As Nigeria seeks to double its official remittance receipts, the role of regulated, direct-access operators like Finlogic becomes increasingly central to the country’s financial inclusion and liquidity strategies.

But then here we are in 2026, with global cross-border payments now worth well over $190 trillion a year, and the average transfer still slower and more expensive than it has any right to be.

The irony is hard to miss. You can hire a developer in Nairobi before lunch, ship goods from Shenzhen by evening, and sign a contract over WhatsApp. 

But paying that same developer, supplier, or student on time can still take days, sometimes weeks, with fees stacked along the way.

We’ve seen founders plan cash flow around bank delays, and freelancers price in losses before the money even moves. That issue shows up in rent, inventory, and missed deadlines.

What is changing is not the need to move money, but who is fixing the situation. Banks are still arguing about processes built in the 1970s. The fintechs that are indispensable in 2026 are not arguing, they are rerouting, cutting out steps, locking rates upfront, settling in minutes instead of days, and building for people whose lives already cross borders, even when their banks do not.

This is a list of fintechs that are measurably reducing expenses, time, and uncertainty in how money moves across countries.

Some do it at scale, others do it with focus, but all of them are changing outcomes.

These are the fintechs making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and harder to ignore in 2026.

1. Grey Finance

Grey Finance earns its place on this list because it understands that the future of work is borderless, but money movement is not. 

In 2026, that gap is where we find value. Grey has built itself directly inside it. By expanding beyond Africa into Latin America and Southeast Asia, and wiring itself into local payment ecosystems through partners like dLocal, Grey is going beyond adding countries to a map. 

It is redesigning how emerging-market talent gets paid, spends, and plans across borders, without losing value to intermediaries.

What makes Grey unique is not speed alone, but its vision. The platform is built for people whose income and lives span currencies, including freelancers, remote workers, founders, and SMEs earning globally but spending locally. 

Multi-currency accounts, wallet-to-bank transfers, and transparent FX pricing are the foundation here. In markets where traditional remittance fees are still between 7 and 10%, Grey’s model materially changes results. 

Faster settlement means better cash flow. Lower fees mean real income retained. For millions of users, that difference is economic.

By the end of 2025, Grey had done the hard work, regulatory coverage across key corridors, compliance with FinCEN and FINTRAC, and infrastructure capable of supporting payments to more than 170 countries via ACH and SWIFT. 

Add a growing SME product, Grey Business, and ecosystem initiatives like its support for women-led companies, and the reason it’s among game-changing fintechs in 2026 becomes more obvious. 

Grey is building the default financial layer for a generation that no longer thinks in national terms. In 2026, that focus makes it unavoidable.

2. Oneremit

Oneremit is a game-changer precisely because it refuses to dramatise payments. In an industry obsessed with speed brags and attractive dashboards, Oneremit chose certainty. 

For African businesses trying to operate globally, that choice is more important than anything else. By 2025, the platform had already processed over $60 million in transactions, enabling SMEs in Nigeria to send money to more than 100 countries with clarity on cost, timing, and compliance. 

With long delays and guesswork known as a challenge within this market, that reliability is disruptive.

Under the leadership of Hammed Afenifere, Oneremit has focused on infrastructure rather than spectacle. The concierge model shows a deep understanding of its users, businesses that care less about interfaces and more about knowing their payments will land, cleanly and compliantly. 

In reducing multi-step banking chains into a single, controlled process, Oneremit has cut settlement times from days to minutes. Fees drop. Planning becomes possible. Growth stops being hostage to payment friction.

Looking into 2026, Oneremit’s positioning becomes even more interesting. Its investments in smart routing, compliance-first operations, and selective use of blockchain rails put it in prime position for the next phase of cross-border payments, hybrid systems where automation, stable liquidity, and regulatory confidence coexist. 

While others go after novelty, Oneremit is building products that scale quietly. In payments, quiet is not a weakness, it’s how trust compounds. And trust, in 2026, is the real currency.

3. Pay4Me (Radius)

Pay4Me is among game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 because it focuses on a category most fintechs underestimate, and that is payments that cannot afford to fail. 

Tuition deadlines, visa fees, immigration charges, these are not flexible transactions. A delay does not mean inconvenience but can mean lost admission, expired status, or derailed plans. 

Built from the lived experience of its founder, Pay4Me addresses a problem traditional banks and generic remittance apps were never designed to solve, and that’s fast, compliant, cross-border payments for global mobility.

Through specialisation in education and immigration workflows, Pay4Me has achieved what broad platforms struggle with, same-day or near-instant settlement for highly regulated, consumer-to-institution payments. 

Allowing users to pay in local currencies removes a major limitation for students across Africa, where access to foreign exchange is still constrained. The result goes beyond speed to dignity, users meet deadlines without begging banks or agents for exceptions.

By late 2025, Pay4Me had onboarded over 100,000 users, processed more than $11 million in volume, and supported payments to over 1,000 institutions worldwide. 

Backing from programmes like Techstars and Village Capital helped strengthen its infrastructure, but the main focus is its evolution into Radius, a broader financial mobility platform offering accounts, cards, and credit-building tools. 

In 2026, cross-border movement will continually increase and Pay4Me is going beyond just helping people pay fees, to becoming the financial starting point for citizens globally.

4. Juicyway

Juicyway is attacking the limitations in African cross-border payments, especially in terms of liquidity. Foreign exchange scarcity, opaque pricing, and slow settlement are not edge cases, they are the system. 

Juicyway’s liquidity-first marketplace directly matches FX demand and supply in real time, reducing dependence on correspondent banks and compressing settlement cycles that typically stretch two to five days down to minutes.

The scale it achieved is what makes it impossible to ignore in 2026. Operating largely in stealth until late 2024, Juicyway had already processed over $1.3 billion in FX volume across more than 25,000 transactions, without a public app or aggressive marketing. 

By late 2025, monthly transaction volumes were reported to be over $300 million, with a client base of 12,000+ businesses spanning importers, exporters, logistics firms, and FMCG operators. Retention above 85% points to the fact that users are not just testing the platform, but building around it.

What strengthens Juicyway’s long-term position is discipline. The company has maintained reported profitability, secured a Canadian MSB licence, and partnered with regulated banks and stablecoin infrastructure providers to support USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR corridors. 

With $3 million in pre-seed funding earmarked for API expansion and geographic growth into Francophone and Southern Africa, Juicyway is building itself into a core FX infrastructure layer. In 2026, with African trade straining under currency volatility, that build becomes essential.

5. Kuda

Kuda makes this list because of scale, and what it is now doing with it. Few African fintechs move as much money as Kuda does. 

In Q1 2025 alone, the digital bank processed ₦14.3 trillion (approximately $9.3 billion) in transaction volume and handled over 300 million transactions across its platform. 

That level of throughput changes the conversation. Cross-border payments are now a natural extension of daily banking behaviour.

After years of prioritising user growth, Kuda’s pivot towards sustainability has enhanced its international play. In rebuilding its remittance stack in-house and relaunching its multi-currency wallet in 2025, the company reduced third-party dependency and improved margins. 

With over 7 million users, Kuda is now converting scale into revenue, recording more paid transfers than free ones and projecting 40% revenue growth driven largely by cross-border and high-engagement services.

Looking to 2026, Kuda’s advantage is control. Licences secured in markets such as Canada and Tanzania prepare it for deeper diaspora corridors, while products like overdrafts, which saw ₦16.4 billion issued in Q1 2025, strengthen customer stickiness. 

In combining everyday banking, lending, and international transfers under one roof, Kuda is collapsing what used to be separate financial journeys. That convergence is exactly how cross-border payments become cheaper, faster, and habitual.

6. Cashwise Finance

Cashwise Finance is earlier-stage, but its numbers already show vision backed by execution. In its first year of operation, the platform processed over 80,000 transactions, moving more than $3 million and ₦15 billion across borders. 

For a newly launched product focused on testing, feedback, and infrastructure hardening, those figures reveal early trust, the most difficult currency to earn in payments.

Cashwise spent 2025 tightening the engine. Real-time iteration, edge-case handling, and compliance workflows took precedence over aggressive expansion. That focus shows in its product direction, with multi-currency wallets, faster settlement outside SWIFT rails, and partnerships aimed at ensuring last-mile delivery rather than just outbound transfers. 

For freelancers and SMEs who rely on predictable cash flow, minutes are important, and Cashwise is building for that.

What makes Cashwise one to watch in 2026 is direction. The company is moving from proof to scale with a clear philosophy, and that is, people should stay connected to their money wherever life takes them. 

With foundations laid and volumes already validating demand, the next phase is expansion, into new corridors, deeper SME tooling, and a broader payments ecosystem. In cross-border finance, that sequence, trust first, growth second, is often what separates survivors from leaders.

7. Verto

Among the game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 is Vert, a Fintech that operates where cross-border payments are hardest and most valuable; high-value, time-sensitive trade flows in emerging markets. 

In 2025, the company made a transition from being a specialist FX provider to becoming infrastructure.

It opened a Lagos office to anchor West African operations, expanded its B2B FX marketplace to cover over 190 countries and nearly 50 currencies, and doubled down on regulatory engagement. 

These were more about owning liquidity and trust in markets where both are scarce.

Looking at the economics, connecting directly to local payment rails, Verto dramatically undercuts legacy banking expenses. A frequently noted comparison shows a 2 million ZAR transaction costing roughly R10,000 via Verto versus over R76,000 through traditional banks, a difference that materially changes margins for importers and exporters. 

Near-instant, 24/7 settlement replaces the multi-day delays of SWIFT, while rate locks help businesses manage volatility in currencies like NGN, KES, ZAR, and XOF. For companies operating on thin margins, this is way beyond optimisation.

What makes Verto especially relevant in 2026 is scale plus embed-ability. In 2025, it launched the Verto Atlas Suite, an API-first embedded finance product that allows other platforms to plug directly into its rails. 

Expansion into the UAE, licensed under the Dubai Financial Services Authority, strengthened trade corridors linking Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, regions that collectively process tens of billions of dollars in annual trade flows. 

With a growing team of 200+ staff, on-the-ground presence in Lagos, and hybrid infrastructure spanning fiat and emerging rails, Verto is moving money and becoming part of how emerging-market trade works.

8. FlashChange

FlashChange is one of the game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 because it is silently aligning with how cross-border payments are actually evolving. 

In 2025, the platform moved beyond being a niche digital asset trader and launched FlashChange V2, consolidating crypto transactions, gift cards, bill payments, airtime, and data into a single system. 

The strategic focus is that users do not want separate tools for value storage, spending, and cross-border movement. They want speed, clarity, and reliability, instantly.

What differentiates FlashChange in 2026 is its focus on real-world utility rather than speculation. By leveraging blockchain rails for settlement, the platform avoids the multi-hop delays and high fees associated with traditional banking. 

Transactions clear near-instantly, and costs are materially lower because intermediaries are stripped out. In regions where inflation, FX scarcity, and payment friction are daily occurrences, that speed is more important than ideology. This is crypto used as infrastructure, not stories.

Trust and compliance are where FlashChange has been careful. In September 2025, the company joined the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), revealing alignment with emerging regulatory and security standards. 

With cross-border payments across Africa edge toward a trillion-dollar opportunity, platforms that can safely bridge digital assets and everyday payments will be essential. 

FlashChange’s hybrid positioning, between traditional finance and blockchain-enabled settlement, places it squarely in the flow of where payments are heading in 2026.

9. LemFi

LemFi stands out here because it has moved faster than most, and stayed licensed while doing so. By 2025, the company had evolved from a focused remittance app into a multi-product financial platform serving diaspora communities across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. 

Backed by a $53 million Series B, LemFi expanded to 27+ send-from markets, added Asian corridors including India, Pakistan, and China, and built infrastructure capable of handling over $1 billion in monthly transaction volume.

The platform’s differentiation is not just low or zero fees, but velocity and control. A large share of transfers settle instantly or within minutes, supported by partnerships with local banks and mobile money operators. 

LemFi’s acquisition of Pillar in mid-2025 brought about credit products for immigrants, a segment usually excluded from traditional financial systems, while new services like LemFi Credit reportedly attracted over 50,000 applications in early rollout. This is remittance evolving into financial inclusion at scale.

What places LemFi strongly for 2026 is independence. In securing its own European licences, including in Ireland, the company reduced reliance on third-party sponsors for operations in the UK and Germany. 

New partnerships, such as enabling instant transfers to tens of millions of mobile wallet users in recipient markets, deepen last-mile delivery. With active user rates reported around 70% among early adopters, LemFi has proven that speed, pricing, and trust can coexist. In a sector still taken over by slow incumbents, that combination is what turns growth into leadership.

10. Comviva

Comviva earns its place on this list not because it is new, but because of the scale it operates at, and what it proved in 2025. 

By October 2025, Comviva’s mobiquity Pay platform was processing over $400 billion in transactions annually, spanning 55+ countries and supporting billions of transactions each year across digital wallets, remittances, and merchant payments. 

The company’s defining moment came in 2025 when it won the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award for “Best-in-Class Cross-Border Payments” for its deployment with Global Money Exchange Company (GMEC) in Oman. 

The Global Pay Oman app, powered by mobiquity Pay, transformed a traditional remittance service into a full digital wallet and payments platform, combining international transfers, local payments, bill pay, and FX services in one interface. 

This “super app” approach reduced settlement times, cut operational costs, and materially improved transaction success rates through AI-led payment orchestration.

Why Comviva becomes especially important in 2026 is replication. With an estimated 24% share of the global mobile money market, its technology already underpins financial services for millions of users in emerging markets. 

The Oman deployment now serves as a blueprint for rolling out similar cross-border wallet ecosystems across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. With regulators pushing for faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment systems, Comviva’s ability to deliver real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments at scale positions it more as infrastructure.

11. Clea

Clea targets one of Africa’s most painful and under-served problems, which is paying international suppliers reliably as an importer. 

In late 2025, the company officially launched from stealth after a pilot phase that processed over $4 million in cross-border transactions, validating demand for a faster, more transparent alternative to traditional bank wires and informal FX channels.

Unlike consumer remittance apps, Clea is built for trade. It uses blockchain-based settlement rails to allow African businesses to convert local currency, including naira, into USD and pay suppliers directly, usually clearing transactions same day or next day, rather than waiting several days through SWIFT. 

Payments are executed in the importer’s own name, reducing compliance red flags and trust gaps that frequently delay shipments or trigger reversals in international trade.

What makes Clea one to watch in 2026 is focus and timing. Africa faces an estimated $120 billion trade finance gap, with SMEs locked out of FX access by slow banks, high spreads, and opaque processes. In 2025, Clea established active corridors to key import hubs, the United States, China, and the UAE, and launched iOS and Android apps designed specifically for traceable, business-grade payments. 

The company has grown in a bootstrapped, capital-efficient way, prioritising unit economics and real usage over hype.

Clea is scaling across Nigeria’s 36 states and expanding payout routes beyond West Africa in 2026, it is not building itself as a wallet, but as a payments layer embedded directly into supply chains.

And in that same year, Nigeria recorded roughly 7.9 billion real-time digital payment transactions.

But now, in late 2025, something curious is happening. About half of Nigerian SMEs, once heavily cash-dependent, now rely on fintech platforms for their core business banking needs including payroll, payments, cashflow, and even basic credit.

I usually find myself asking, is this true financial inclusion or is it just an elegant, digital rebrand of the same old inefficiencies?

How We Got Here: Building the Rails (2010–2025)

Mobile Money Era (2010–2015)

Back then, mobile money meant USSD codes and agents. Quick person-to-person transfers. For many Nigerians, especially those outside major cities, this was a breakthrough. 

It brought, for the first time, a way to move money without visiting a bank branch. But the system had some limits, minimal functionality. Saving, loans, invoicing, these were mostly out of reach.

Fintech Explosion (2016–2020)

Smartphones became more common. Fintech apps began providing wallets, easy payments, and basic services. The idea of cashless started to stick. Entrepreneurs could now send payments, collect revenues, and do business without stacks of naira notes.

But still, bookkeeping was manual, payroll was offline, credit was almost nonexistent for most small businesses. Many SMEs operated in hybrid mode, some digital payments, but plenty of paper bills, manual ledgers, cash-in-hand.

Cloud-Native Finance (2021–2025)

The last few years changed things more radically. Rather than just payments, SMEs now get banking-as-a-service: invoices, payroll, reconciliations, lending, expense tracking, all via APIs and cloud tools. Digital banking isn’t just consumer-facing anymore, it’s business-native.

Fintech companies have proliferated. By early 2025, there were over 430 fintech firms operating in Nigeria, a 68% increase from 2024. The convenience is real, apps onboard fast, many offer light KYC, and services are usually cheaper than traditional banks.

Now, SMEs can run near-full financial operations online. No “bank visits once a month.” No “cash purchased and moved by hand.” Everything runs digitally.

The SME Reality in 2025: What’s Actually Happening

• According to a 2025 index by Mastercard, 99% of Nigerian SMEs now accept digital payments.
• Around 50% of SMEs now rely on fintech platforms for banking functions such as collections, payroll, cash-flow management, and occasionally lending.
• Among SMEs that were “cash-only” not too long ago, 76% say they plan to invest in new payment technologies.
• Many SME owners say digital payments improved customer experience, reduced downtime, and cut reliance on physical cash, which can be risky or cumbersome.

In short, digital finance is no longer a nice-to-have add-on. It’s now core to how many small businesses operate.

That transition should matter at the macroeconomic level. More efficient SMEs mean faster transactions, better record-keeping, easier scaling. Tax authorities get better visibility. Credit providers get cleaner data. Growth becomes more traceable.

Inclusion or Efficiency

Financial inclusion, yes, but how deep?

Digital payments have made it easier to transact. SMEs can receive payments, pay suppliers, and manage cash with less issues. For many micro and small businesses, that’s a big leap from cash-only days.

But inclusion isn’t only about access. Factual inclusion should mean affordability, reliability, and long-term economic mobility. That’s where things get murkier.

The catch behind the convenience

• Transaction expenses is real. Digital or not, fees accrue. For many small businesses, those add up. Over time, the burden may shift from the consumer to the business.
• Platform lock-in. Once an SME is embedded in a fintech ecosystem, made up of payments, bookkeeping, maybe even credit, switching becomes expensive. That wears away competition.
• Credit is still a weak point. Having a digital footprint doesn’t guarantee good credit. Many small firms lack the data history institutions need to underwrite loans at reasonable rates.
• Infrastructure gaps are still there. In many regions, connectivity is poor. Power outages, network failures, or USSD downtime wipe out the benefits. For those on the margins, rural SMEs, women-led SMEs and informal traders, digital finance may be inaccessible or unreliable.
• Digital tools don’t automatically solve structural problems like inflation, currency instability, lack of collateral, supply-chain fragility, or regulatory unpredictability.

So while many SMEs may now have the tools, whether those tools become stability, growth, and resilience is still up for discussion.

Digitising Old Inefficiencies; A Reality Check

Digital finance has simplified many processes. But in many cases, it has simply transformed old inefficiencies into new ones.

Fragmented infrastructure. Multiple fintech platforms, each with its own policy, fees, limits, and downtime. For an SME juggling several services, integration becomes messy.

Costs are burdensome. Many SMEs now pay for digital services such as payment processing, inventory tools, subscription-based bookkeeping or payroll apps. Over time, these expenses chip away at margins.

Credit and liquidity still constrained. Digital transaction history doesn’t always translate to creditworthiness. Few fintech platforms provide noteworthy working capital at scale, and traditional lenders remain sceptical.

Regulation, compliance, and hesitation. The regulatory environment is still growing. Licensing, compliance, data protection, KYC requirements, these can be blockers for many small operators.

Infrastructure risk. Network instability, power issues, SIM-swap fraud, or downtime can affect a business that relies solely on digital rails.

In effect, digital finance has made SMEs look and feel more formal. But the economic engines that drive growth, stable credit, reliable infrastructure, competitive markets, are still uneven and weak.

Macroeconomic Impact: Progress and Risks

Where we see real positive effects

• Transaction visibility & formalisation: More SMEs are traceable, easier for regulators and tax authorities to monitor economic activity. That could enlarge the tax base and improve revenue.
• Lower transaction friction: Digital payments are faster, more reliable, and often safer than cash, reducing costs tied to logistics, theft, and cash handling.
• Enhanced operational efficiency: For SMEs, digital bookkeeping, payroll, supplier payments help save time, freeing up mental bandwidth and resources.
• Potential for data-driven credit and growth tools: Over time, digital footprints may allow lenders to design better credit products, supply-chain financing, or working-capital services.
• Job and sector growth: Fintech companies, mobile agents, and digital payment ecosystems create employment beyond traditional banking.

But there are still risks of systemic inefficiency

• Platform dependency & monopolisation: If a few fintech companies top the space, small businesses lose bargaining power. Costs may stay high; switching platforms may be hard.
• Hidden cost burden: What seems “free” or “cheap” can accumulate; transaction fees, subscription fees, float charges, digital-service fees. Over time, small margins can be worn away.
• Financial exclusion for the most vulnerable: Those without stable internet, smartphones, or digital literacy, rural traders, older entrepreneurs, women-led businesses, may be left out.
• Regulatory & systemic risk: Without consistent regulation and oversight, fraud, downtime, or misuse of data can harm trust, and erode inclusion gains.
• Economic fragility: Digital finance doesn’t solve macro problems like inflation, currency volatility, poor infrastructure, or supply-chain instability. Without comprehensive reforms, many SMEs will continually be vulnerable.

What Must Change for Real Inclusion (Not Just Digitisation)

To move from “neat digital rails” to “stable economic engines,” we need more than apps.

• Interoperability & open standards. Fintech platforms, banks, regulators must agree on shared protocols. SMEs shouldn’t be locked into a single ecosystem.
• Transparent pricing & fair fees. Digital services must be affordable and predictable, not exploitative over time.
• Solid infrastructure. Reliable power, broadband, especially outside megacities, needs serious investment. Otherwise, digital tools will remain an urban luxury.
• Tailored SME credit products. Lenders need to trust digital histories and build flexible credit that matches SME cash flow cycles.
• Digital literacy & support for underserved entrepreneurs. Training, especially for rural and informal entrepreneurs, to ensure access isn’t limited to the urban, educated elite.
• Regulatory clarity and consumer/SME protection. Data protection, fair-use terms, oversight against fraud, these must be standard.
• Holistic economic reforms. Currency stability, inflation control, reliable supply-chain infrastructure, these foundational issues can’t be ignored.

What the Next Five Years Could Bring, if We Get It Right

If we address these gaps, the next half-decade might truly change SME finance in Nigeria:

• Cloud-based “business operating systems”, invoice to payment to payroll to credit in a single workflow.
• Embedded credit and supply-chain financing tailored to SMEs’ cash flow realities.
• Real-time payments are becoming the default, even for micro-transactions and informal economy players.
• Data-driven loan underwritings, allowing micro-businesses to grow without collateral.
• Greater formalisation, more SMEs in the tax net; better regulation; more visibility for policy-makers.
• Growth of SMEs beyond survival mode, longer-term capital investment, expansion, jobs creation.

But if we don’t fix current weaknesses, there’d be high costs, infrastructure gaps, platform lock-in, this digital transition risks becoming another layer of friction, not liberation.

A New Financial Skeleton, But Are We Building a True Body?

Digital finance in Nigeria has built a sturdy skeleton. Payments flow, accounts exist, many SMEs operate online. That is progress. Profound progress, even.

But a skeleton alone does not make a human being. For actual economic inclusion, for SMEs to grow securely and sustainably, we need flesh, muscles, stable credit, fair pricing, infrastructure, regulation, inclusion for the marginalised.

I believe digital finance brings a huge turnaround. But a promise alone isn’t enough. If we’re honest, we must ask: are we building a new financial fate for SMEs or simply repackaging old systems with a shinier interface?

Because if we don’t fix the in-depth structural problems, the only thing we’ll have done is made inefficiency look digital.

The Lagos-based startup has moved beyond its roots in community lending to build a regulated financial ecosystem that connects Africa’s informal savings culture with formal banking infrastructure.

The rebrand comes with two key acquisitions, AjoMoney, a digital group-savings platform, and Zazzau Microfinance Bank, which now operates as Rank Microfinance Bank. 

The dual acquisition makes Rank one of the first Nigerian fintechs to merge social trust networks with a regulated framework, enabling it to offer savings, payments, and investment services to communities rather than individuals.

With a Central Bank of Nigeria Tier 2 microfinance licence, Rank can now accept deposits, disburse loans, and offer treasury-backed savings. The company has also integrated with the NIBSS Instant Payment system (NIP), allowing users to send and receive money in real time. 

“We can now go beyond savings to payments,” said Femi Iromini, CEO of Rank. “We can go into investing. And we are seeing the interests already.”

Rank’s first product, a high-yield group savings plan, leverages the power of trusted networks such as traders’ associations and cooperatives. 

In a pilot involving 10,000 participants, the platform delivered over ₦16 billion ($11.25 million) in payouts, with funds invested in treasury bills and money markets generating up to 23% annual returns. 

Participants contributed a minimum of ₦150,000 ($100) each, pooling resources through a system rooted in the familiar “ajo” and “esusu” models of collective savings.

The company’s rebrand from Moni to Rank also aims to digitise Africa’s centuries-old community finance systems and transform them into scalable, wealth-building tools. 

According to Iromini, Rank intends to build beyond savings and loans by introducing payments and investment products that serve the collective strength of communities. 

“We have done the experiment, and we learned a lot,” he said. “There is still more we can do with communities. For instance, we can create products around people being able to make payments together.”

The leadership teams of AjoMoney and Zazzau MFB have now joined Rank, bringing product depth and regulatory experience under one structure.

For Ibrahim Adepoju, CEO of AjoMoney, the partnership represents a natural evolution: “We modernised one of Africa’s oldest financial traditions, rotating savings and credit associations, and brought it into the digital era. Passing this vision to the Rank team is a natural next step.”

Similarly, Mohammed Usman, director at Zazzau Microfinance Bank, said, “The vision of a money app for communities is something that really excites us. We are happy to be part of this journey.”

Rank’s approach distinguishes it from older fintechs like Piggyvest and Cowrywise, which focus on individuals. Instead, Rank is betting on the collective, people who already trust one another and have long practised shared finance. 

“In reality, they are entrusting us with their money,” Iromini said. “Having the right backing when it comes to a license actually helps a lot with that.”

With over ₦67 billion ($46.62 million) in previous loan disbursements and a 96% repayment rate, Rank’s foundation in community trust is solid.

According to the Banking on Innovation report by Briter Intelligence and Lateral Frontiers, fintech firms in Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria collectively raised more than $6.5 billion in the last decade.

This shows a shift from rapid expansion to sustainable, partnership-driven growth.

The report found that Nigeria alone attracted over $3 billion, led by major payment startups such as Paystack, Flutterwave, and Moniepoint, while Kenya’s fintech ecosystem secured around $2 billion, largely in digital credit and asset finance. 

Egypt’s fintech sector, now the country’s most funded, amassed $1.68 billion, driven by players like Fawry, Khazna, Paymob, and MNT-Halan.

What stands out is how collaboration, rather than disruption, is now bolstering Africa’s financial inclusion. In Egypt, Banque Misr’s partnership with valU has expanded Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services to underbanked groups, modernising consumer credit in a country where cash remains dominant. 

In Kenya, Citi’s alliance with Visa and Cellulant created Citi Optimised Pay, tackling a $25 billion SME financing gap by allowing small suppliers to access instant payments. And in Nigeria, Paystack’s integration with leading banks has enhanced merchant transactions, a success so notable that Stripe’s $200 million acquisition of Paystack became a model for fintech-bank synergy across the region.

Across these economies, central banks are taking a more active role. Egypt’s Digital Wallet Interoperability Regulation and the Meeza national payments network, Kenya’s Digital Credit Provider laws, and Nigeria’s Open Banking Framework (2023) reveal a coordinated regulatory initiative to encourage innovation while maintaining consumer protection. 

Samakab Hashi, partner at Lateral Frontiers, noted, “Policymakers are no longer passive observers. They are actively shaping the future, using sandboxes, tiered licensing, and data protection mandates to balance innovation with stability.”

The research stresses that over one-third of all venture funding in Africa since 2014 has gone to fintech, now the continent’s most dynamic technology sector. 

However, the focus is now changing direction. Rather than chasing payment volumes, investors and founders are turning toward credit infrastructure, embedded finance, and insurtech, sectors with deeper, long-term impact.

On challenges, the report warns that issues around data governance, regulatory inconsistency, and compliance costs threaten progress. 

Nigeria’s resolutions on unlicensed digital lenders and Egypt’s limits on data sharing have slowed expansion for some startups. Still, fintechs are adapting through strategic partnerships, early engagement with regulators, and a stronger focus on cybersecurity and user trust.

For founders, the report recommends building before licensing, forming smart alliances, and focusing on infrastructure rather than duplication. In Egypt, the opportunity lies in e-KYC and Banking-as-a-Service; in Kenya, agricultural and SME credit tools; in Nigeria, open banking-based embedded finance.

Even with global venture slowdowns, African fintechs are standing on resilience and reinvention. Egypt’s steady growth, Kenya’s ecosystem maturity, and Nigeria’s scale show that the continent’s financial sector must continually focus on collaboration among banks, telcos, and innovators working together to bridge access and trust.

Disruption and the ability to collaborate, adapt, and build inclusive systems that leave no one behind, are highly indispensable among African fintechs and others.

The competition recognises some of the continent’s most innovative startups in financial technology and other high-impact solutions that address Africa’s financial sector.

Now in its seventh edition, the challenge centres on the theme, “You Build, We Scale,” and seeks to empower founders ensuring access to finance across Absa’s eight key markets which include Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zambia.

The selected startups are developing solutions that cut across payments, credit access, cross-border trade, agri-fintech, and financial literacy, all aimed at rethinking how money moves and works for Africans.

Ashwin Ravichandran, portfolio advisor at MEST Africa and MAC Lead, described the semi-finalists as visionary entrepreneurs whose ideas merge technology with community-focused problem-solving. 

“Each of these founders represents a unique path toward reimagining how finance works for Africans,” he said. “Their ideas pair technology with empathy, proving that lasting change comes from solving real problems within their own communities. We’re proud to provide a platform that connects them with investors, mentors, and global opportunities.”

Absa’s collaboration with MEST emphasises its focus on driving digital inclusion and innovation across Africa’s financial ecosystem. 

Speaking on the announcement, Tawanda Chatikobo, head of Digital for Absa Regional Operations (ARO), Retail and Business Banking, said: “Congratulations to the top 20 finalists and to all applicants. The quality of submissions has been exceptional, showcasing the depth of innovation and entrepreneurial drive across Africa. These startups are not only solving real challenges; they’re building the foundation for inclusive growth and lasting impact. 

“Our partnership with MEST and our active participation in the MEST Africa Challenge 2025 reflect our commitment to open collaboration within the FinTech ecosystem. At Absa, we see ourselves as partners in this journey, guided by a purpose to make banking simpler, more accessible, and more relevant for our customers.”

The 20 startups, selected from hundreds of applications, include:

Botswana:

• mystock.africa – A retail investing platform offering Africans access to stocks, ETFs, and alternative assets.

Ghana:

• Brydge – Simplifying cross-border trade for African businesses.
• Kutana Technologies Limited – Enabling B2B payments and trade using stablecoins and AI-powered credit scoring.

Kenya:

• Logistify AI – Optimising procurement and supply chains for SMEs and cooperatives.
• Farmsky Ventures – Providing digital lending and crop insurance for smallholder farmers.
• Investa Farm – Offering voucher-backed loans for climate-resilient farm inputs.

Mauritius:

• Black Swan – Building credit scores for Africa’s unbanked using AI and alternative data.

Mozambique:

• Simulador Bancário – A platform for financial planning and loan simulations.

Uganda:

• Paytota – Simplifying fragmented digital payments through a unified payment gateway.
• Xzerra – Facilitating cashless transactions with biometric fingerprint technology.
• Kanzu Finance Limited – Providing digital banking solutions for cooperatives and microfinance institutions.
• Axiom Zorn – Enabling smallholder farmers’ access to finance and markets through data innovation.
• Credify Africa, Inc. – Bridging Africa’s SME finance gap with trade finance and logistics solutions.
• eMaisha Pay – Promoting financial inclusion for agro-traders and small businesses.

Zambia:

• Ebusaka Green Technology Limited – Turning waste to value through digitised recycling incentives.
• KreativBox Technology – Offering salary-backed loans to civil servants.
• Mighty Finance Solution Inc – Providing embedded digital loans for SMEs and women entrepreneurs.
• Devdraft AI – Supporting freelancers with cross-border payments using stablecoin wallets.
• Homer Price Agency Solutions Limited – Operating a digital banking network of over 550 agents nationwide.

Seychelles:

• Fusepay – A licensed Payment Service Provider building a digital finance hub for frontier markets.

The semi-finalists will present their pitches virtually in the week of October 27, 2025. Only 10 startups will proceed to the final round in Cape Town, South Africa, scheduled for 26 November 2025. 

The overall winner will secure a $50,000 equity investment, gain access to MEST Africa’s global mentorship network, and explore pilot opportunities with Absa’s business divisions.

Tamu Dutuma, head of Strategy and Transformation for ARO Technology, said the competition unearths ideas capable of accelerating digital transformation across the continent. 

“Through this challenge, we’re seeing solutions that are not only innovative but strategically aligned with Africa’s evolving technology landscape. Some of these ideas have the potential to accelerate digital transformation and unlock new value for our customers,” she said.

Since its founding in 2008, MEST Africa has supported more than 2,000 entrepreneurs and invested in over 90 startups. The MEST Africa Challenge is a key platform for identifying, nurturing, and scaling promising technology-driven ventures that are building Africa’s economy sustainably.