Paystack Steps Into Nigerian Banking, Acquires Ladder Microfinance Bank

Paystack has officially joined Nigeria’s banking league following its acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank, marking a major shift beyond payments into full-stack financial services.

Brand News Day reports that Stripe-owned Nigerian fintech announced the launch of Paystack Microfinance Bank on Wednesday, ten years after starting operations in Nigeria.

The fintech company said the new microfinance bank will operate independently of Paystack Payments Limited, with its own licence, governance structure, and product roadmap, while working closely with the core payments business.
This comes barely a week after another leading Nigerian fintech, Flutterwave, acquired open banking startup Mono to strengthen its payments stack with open banking, data, and identity capabilities.

According to Paystack, the decision to move into banking is driven by insights gained from supporting over 300,000 businesses and millions of consumers across Nigeria.

The company disclosed that its systems currently process trillions of naira every month, highlighting the central role it already plays in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

According to the company statement: “Payments are a critical part of the financial journey, but not the whole story. Businesses don’t just need to get paid. They need a financial operating system.

”Paystack noted in the statement that, beyond accepting payments, businesses need tools to store money securely, move funds easily, gain clarity through financial data, and grow with confidence.

”Individuals, on the other hand, want financial products that help them protect, grow, and use their money as their ambitions evolve.

”To address these needs, Paystack said it is launching Paystack Microfinance Bank as a separate company dedicated to building banking products, while Paystack Payments Limited continues to focus on payment infrastructure.
Paystack’s banking ambitions.”

According to the company, Paystack Microfinance Bank will be built around the same principles that shaped Paystack’s payments.

The company said it has already onboarded a small group of early users and plans to gradually open the platform to more businesses and individuals over time.

The acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank provides Paystack with a regulated foundation to offer banking services, as Nigeria’s fintech landscape continues to blur the lines between payments, banking, and broader financial services.

Paystack also emphasised that developers remain a key part of its strategy, noting that modern financial services require reliable, secure, and compliant infrastructure that allows builders to create new products quickly.

What You Should Know

• Paystack’s move into banking reflects a broader trend among African fintechs seeking to deepen customer relationships by offering end-to-end financial services rather than single-point solutions.
• For Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, the entry of a major payments player into banking could intensify competition, particularly in the microfinance and SME-focused segments.
• It also underscores the growing convergence between fintechs and licensed financial institutions.
• Paystack, founded in 2015 by Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade, was acquired by global fintech giant Stripe in 2020 in a $200 million deal.
• Before the latest development, Paystack was in the news late last year for the wrong reasons as one of its co-founders and Chief Operating Officer, Ezra Olubi, was enmeshed in sexual misconduct allegations.
• Paystack later terminated Olubi’s employment after days of suspension and investigations into the allegations.