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Globacom, the Nigerian telecom operator founded by billionaire Mike Adenuga, has announced the launch of MoneyMaster PSB, its payment services banking (PSB) unit, in Nigeria. The company joins competitors 9Mobile, MTN, and Airtel in operating payment banking units in the country.
PSBs leverage the strengths of businesses like mobile network operators, while maintaining a bank-led rather than a telecoms-led banking model, according to the GSM Association.
Globacom intends to establish a presence in the financial services sector by deploying a large agent network of more than 100,000 agents in both rural and urban areas of the country.
In addition, the company intends to deploy thousands of kiosks across the country.
MoneyMaster PSB will provide many of the services offered by commercial banks under the terms of its license, including payments and remittances, deposit collection, and the issuance of debit and prepaid cards. It will, however, be unable to make loans or conduct foreign exchange transactions, unlike commercial banks.
With the launch of MoneyMaster PSB, every telecom operator in Nigeria now has its own payment service banking unit. The Globacom subsidiary, along with 9Mobile’s 9PSB, received final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria in November 2020, while MoMo PSB (MTN) and SmartCash PSB (Airtel) received their licenses earlier this year.
The introduction of PSBs is part of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria, where a large portion of the population remains unbanked.
According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, Nigeria had around 133.5 million bank accounts as of December 2021. (NIBSS).
As of April 10, 2022, only 54 million of those accounts had a Bank Verification Number (BVN). Telecom operators’ PSB units target the 79 million underbanked and unbanked people.
