The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, May 24, 2021 published new license requirements for Payment System operators in the country.

This disclosure is contained in a document stating the eligibility criteria for each license category in the country. The categories listed include the Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP), Payment Solutions Service Provider (PSSP), Payment Solution Services (PSS), Super Agent License, Mobile Money Operator (MMO), Switch and Processing License.

The new license requirements make provisions for capitalization of each service category, documentation, application and license fee and the license validity.

Potential applicants into Nigeria’s lucrative financial services sector will have to grapple with meeting the stringent conditions included in these licensing requirements. For example, potential FinTechs looking to take on large GSM companies as Mobile Money Operators will have to stump up N2 billion in capital requirements and escrow a refundable  N2 billion with the Central Bank. For those looking to take on Paystack, Flutterwave, and Interswitch, they will also need to escrow N2 billion with the Central Bank.