Banking
FairMoney Customers Earn Over N7bn in Interest, Receive N150bn Loans
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over N7 billion has been paid out in interest on savings by a leading force in the Nigerian financial technology (fintech) ecosystem, FairMoney Microfinance Bank (MFBank) over the past year.
In the period under review, the technology-enabled lender has disbursed more than N150 billion in loans to customers, which include individuals and businesses.
FairMoney began operations in 2021 as one of the country’s pioneer platforms for rapid credit access.
Beyond expanding access to finance, the company has successfully scaled its operations, evolving into a full-fledged licensed microfinance bank.
It now offers a comprehensive suite of services, including high-interest savings accounts, fixed-term deposits, current accounts, debit cards, and POS solutions for businesses, all aimed at fostering financial inclusion through ease of use and competitive transaction rates.
FairMoney leverages advanced tools, including AI and machine learning algorithms, to analyse extensive financial and alternative data from smartphone usage and user-provided information.
By creating unique credit scores to assess risk, the small bank enables fast, collateral-free lending to underserved segments, ensuring creditworthiness is evaluated beyond traditional banking criteria.
“Our record loan disbursements and savings pay-outs over the past year are more than just numbers; they represent our unwavering tenacity in supporting the Nigerian financial ecosystem.
“At FairMoney, we are driven by the knowledge that our platform provides the essential capital for individuals to thrive and for businesses to scale.
“Our savings products provide both retail and business customers with inflation-beating returns, ensuring genuine wealth preservation. We remain deeply committed to closing the financial gap and empowering our community,” the Managing Director of FairMoney MFB, Mr Henry Obiekea, stated.
Operating as a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed institution, FairMoney adheres to all guidelines of the regulator and is strictly regulated to ensure that deposits are insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Furthermore, the bank prioritizes data protection under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and maintains bank-grade security protocols.
Throughout 2025, the Nigerian financial ecosystem operated under the strategic framework of the CBN’s “Payment Systems Vision 2025,” successfully transitioning the nation toward a more inclusive, stable, and cashless economy. By October 2025, Nigeria recorded a massive surge in electronic payments. Total e-payment transactions reached record highs, with instant bank transfers accounting for nearly 70% of all electronic transactions. FairMoney played its part as a conduit, creating a significant digital footprint through the disbursement of loans and the payment of savings interest to customers.
“Our efforts in 2025 were defined by an unwavering commitment to financial inclusivity and a customer-centric mission rooted in fairness, empowerment, and consumer confidence,”
“As we move into 2026, we remain resolute in our mission to uphold these values and drive the continued growth and resilience of Nigeria’s financial landscape,” Mr Obiekea added
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Sewa Capital Investment, an investment banking and financial advisory firm focused on supporting high-growth businesses across Africa, has made a strategic investment in Mathesis Analytics, a Nigerian financial technology company providing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered credit decisioning infrastructure.
The investment is expected to support Mathesis Analytics’ expansion drive for its AI-powered credit infrastructure in Nigeria.
Currently, Nigerian lenders face a critical structural gap: the fragmentation of verifiable consumer data makes it difficult to accurately price risk at scale. Mathesis directly addresses this bottleneck by aggregating disparate transactional and behavioural data into a real-time measure of creditworthiness.
The investment will support product development, institutional integrations, expansion of Mathesis’ lender network, and the strengthening of its data and technology infrastructure, a statement from the fintech firm stated.
By embedding this infrastructure, financial institutions can expand underwriting capacity, support more accurate risk-based lending decisions, and reach new market segments without compromising established risk thresholds.
For Mathesis Analytics, this investment represents an important milestone in its strategy to build Africa’s next-generation credit infrastructure to drive true financial inclusion.
Mathesis has already supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, providing a substantial operating base from which to deepen institutional adoption and expand into additional markets.
The company will leverage Sewa Capital’s backing to accelerate the expansion of its institutional footprint.
“At Sewa Capital, we are interested in businesses building the infrastructure that enables African economies to allocate capital more efficiently and inclusively.
“Mathesis Analytics is addressing a fundamental constraint in credit markets: the information gap that limits lenders’ ability to assess risk confidently.
“Its technology has the potential to expand responsible access to credit in Nigeria and, over time, across Africa. We are pleased to support the team through its next phase of growth,” the Managing Director of Sewa Capital, Ms Angela Jide-Jones, commented.
The chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Mr Winston Osuchukwu, in his reaction, said, “Credit inclusion begins with information visibility.
“Partnering with Sewa Capital accelerates the rollout of our infrastructure; equipping a wider network of lenders with the capabilities required to accurately evaluate risk and ultimately deliver credit services to previously excluded populations across the continent.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Eligible innovators, financial institutions, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial technology (fintech) companies, and technology firms have been invited to apply for the second cohort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Regulatory Sandbox Programme.
A statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the apex bank, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed that entries opened on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and will close on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Cohort 2 of the initiative introduces two dedicated testing tracks to support emerging technologies with the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system while upholding high standards of consumer protection, financial stability, and market integrity.
According to the central bank, the two tracks are VASP and Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP).
VASP track is to support innovative virtual asset, stablecoin, payment, settlement, custody, wallet, and related financial infrastructure solutions that require supervised live testing, while the non-VASP track supports innovations that leverage secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and consumer outcomes.
The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the CBN.
The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.
Eligible organisations whose proposed innovations fall within the programme’s scope are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be assessed based on the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential consumer or market benefit, governance arrangements, risk management capability, and the suitability of the proposed testing plan.
Successful participants will undertake supervised testing within clearly defined parameters agreed with the CBN, including appropriate safeguards for consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting.
The central bank emphasised that participation in the scheme does not constitute a licence, authorisation, or approval to operate outside the approved testing parameters.
It noted that the Sandbox is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen regulatory engagement, and support evidence-based policy development in line with the CBN’s statutory mandate.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The international spending limit on the GTBank Naira card has been increased by the financial institution to $40,000.
This information was revealed by the lender in an email to customers on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The banking subsidiary of GTCO Plc disclosed that the new offshore spending limit is for a quarter.
This development comes as the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market is witnessing stability against the United States Dollar.
The forex volatility experienced a few years ago has eased, allowing companies and others to plan within a reasonable exchange rate band.
“The Dollar limit on your GTBank Naira Card is now $40,000 quarterly,” the tier-1 commercial bank said in the message sighted by Business Post.
Improvement in forex liquidity in the domestic FX ecosystem has allowed Nigerians to use their local cards to complete financial transactions on foreign platforms, which was not possible a few years ago because of Dollar scarcity and arbitrage.
At the official market on Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at N1,364/$1. It was exchanged at N1,367/$1 at the GTBank FX desk and N1,395/$1 at the parallel market.
