Nigerian Banking Giants Compete for Digital Payments Dominance
Key Ideas
- Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc and Access Holdings Plc are leading the charge in the Nigerian digital payments space, with their fintech subsidiaries driving significant transaction volumes and revenue growth.
- Hydrogen, a backend payments infrastructure provider, saw a remarkable 313% increase in transactions in 2024, positioning itself as a key player in enabling secure and seamless payment processing for businesses.
- GTCO's HabariPay, focusing on direct merchant onboarding, experienced a 124.6% year-on-year growth in transactions, leveraging its strong fintech approach and customer base to establish a profitable business.
- While Nigerian banks are capitalizing on the surge in mobile money usage and transitioning from cash to digital payments, challenges lie ahead in terms of regulatory compliance, competition from fast-growing fintechs, and the costs of scaling operations across Africa.
In Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc and Access Holdings Plc are engaged in a fierce competition to dominate the digital payments space. With their fintech subsidiaries, HabariPay and Hydrogen, these banking groups have significantly impacted how millions of Nigerians move money. Hydrogen, focusing on backend payments infrastructure, experienced a notable 313% increase in transactions in 2024, positioning itself as a key facilitator for other fintechs and financial institutions. On the other hand, GTCO's HabariPay adopted a direct approach by onboarding over 30,000 merchants and recording a substantial 124.6% year-on-year growth in transactions.
The shift from cash to digital payments in Nigeria has been substantial, with mobile money transactions skyrocketing from ₦3.05 trillion in 2020 to ₦79.6 trillion in 2024. Both Hydrogen and HabariPay have seen significant revenue growth, with Hydrogen generating ₦10.3 billion in revenue and a ₦1.89 billion profit in 2024, while HabariPay made ₦4.22 billion in profits off ₦6.66 billion in revenue. Despite this success, challenges loom ahead, including increased regulatory scrutiny, competition from rising fintechs, and the complexities of expanding operations across Africa. Industry analysts emphasize the importance of building robust ecosystems to ensure user retention and platform stickiness. The future of Nigerian banking is strongly tied to the digital realm, showcasing a shift towards mobile-based financial services and innovative payment solutions.