Airtel Africa’s Smartcash PSB launches in select Nigerian cities

By Edlyn Cardoza

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

In the release, Airtel Africa CEO and Managing Director Segun Ogunsanya said that bringing SmartCash PSB to Nigeria is the start of its “journey to revolutionise 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 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.

Telecommunications and mobile money services Airtel Africa operates across 14 African countries. SmartCash PSB will first be trialled at selected retail touchpoints 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 integrated telecommunications and global mobile money services suite.