NIGERIA – Appzone, a sub-Saharan African payment infrastructure company, has been granted approval in principle by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate under the switching and processing license category.
The switching license would allow the company to directly interact and collaborate with key payment stakeholders, including the Nigeria Central Switch hosted by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), and different card payment systems.
Appzone will be allowed to operate at the same level as other premier financial technology and private switching enterprises.
The firm will be able to increase its transaction switching and processing services supplied to banks and fintech via its blockchain-based payment network, Zone, which it debuted in December 2021, with clearance.
Founded in 2008 as a fintech software engineering company, Zone has been adopted by over 16 commercial banks and payment services banks in Nigeria, and the company says it will now expand further to other financial institutions, fintech, and commercial banks across Africa.
The company believes it will now spread to additional financial institutions, fintech, and commercial banks across Africa.
It is also referred to as the first private blockchain payment network that permits the direct transfer of funds from the bank to the bank while allowing previously excluded financial institutions to participate.
“We are ecstatic about the issuance of the switching license and anticipate the advancements it will enable in the payment and financial ecosystem,” said Obi Emetarom, co-founder and chief executive officer of AppZone.
“As a payment infrastructure firm, we believe this achievement will enable us to connect every financial institution in Nigeria to the rest of the world.”
According to the corporation, this indicates growth that would allow it to produce value for itself and other financial institutions in Nigeria.
Currently, the platform serves 18 commercial banks and more than 450 microfinance banks in Africa. Together, they amass a yearly transaction value and yearly loan disbursement of US$2 billion and US$300 million, respectively.
The firm plans to expand further into other African markets other than Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Tanzania, and Senegal.
With its expansion plans, the firm will also scale its engineering team, which makes up half of Appzone’s 150 employees — a department in which it takes pride.
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