Chams Switch

What Chams Switch does

Chams Switch Ltd. is a Nigeria-based electronic payments infrastructure provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chams Plc, established in 2008 and headquartered in Victoria Island, Lagos. The company operates a Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed payment switch and processing platform under its flagship MX Payment suite, which covers the full electronic payments value chain including card issuance (debit, prepaid, e-wallet) across Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay schemes, transaction authorization, clearing and settlement, dispute and chargeback management, ATM/POS management, mobile and internet gateway routing, third-party payment services, and authentication. It also offers a cloud-hosted version, MX Plus PaaS, plus consumer-facing products (Naira.Com for bill payments, Naira Plus for corporate bulk payments, PelPay for e-commerce gateway services, SwitchPay for airtime vending) and sector solutions (MX E-Gov, MX Health, MX Move, MX Campus, MX Enterprise, MX ID, MX Transport). In 2025 the company launched Kardit, a cross-border B2B payment product for the Nigeria-Asia commerce corridor.

Name

Chams Switch

Legal name

Chams Switch Ltd.

Website

https://chamsswitch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chams Switch is a CBN-licensed Nigerian payment switch and processor serving banks, fintechs, government, and merchants with its MX Payment platform spanning issuing, acquiring, switching, and settlement, plus consumer brands Naira.Com and PelPay.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing and Switching Infrastructure

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

ATM Switching, Routing & Network Services (FSAMAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms (BPAMAFAK)

Keywords

• Electronic payment processing
• Payment switching infrastructure
• Card issuance services
• Payment gateway solutions
• Fintech payment platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing and Switching Services: Core revenue from transaction processing, switching fees, and payment orchestration services for banks, fintechs, and merchants. Fees generated per transaction processed through their infrastructure.
2. Payment Gateway Services (PelPay): E-commerce payment gateway providing card payments, bank transfers, mobile wallet payments, QR code payments for businesses. Revenue from transaction fees on payments processed.
3. Bulk Payment Services (Naira Plus): Corporate electronic payment platform for bulk payments and e-collections services connecting financial and non-financial institutions.
4. Consumer Payment Platform (Naira.Com): Online payment platform for consumer transactions including bill payments, money transfer, airtime top-up. Revenue from transaction fees.
5. Cloud Hosted Payment Solutions (MX Plus PaaS™): Cloud-based electronic payment services providing Payment Service Providers, financial institutions, fintechs with hosted solutions. Likely subscription or usage-based model.
6. Card Issuance Services: Payment card issuance and processing services including physical card production, personalisation, and activation for debit, credit, prepaid cards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Chams Switch is a CBN-licensed electronic payments processing and switching company providing multichannel payment infrastructure to issuers, acquirers, banks, fintechs, and payment service providers in Nigeria. Its flagship MX Payment™ platform covers the full payment value chain (issuing, acquiring, processing, switching, and securing), supported by a cloud-hosted MX Plus PaaS™ offering, while consumer-facing brands Naira.Com, Naira Plus, PelPay, SwitchPay, and Kardit address bill payments, bulk payments, e-commerce, airtime top-up, and cross-border Naira-RMB commerce.

Product overview

ChamsSwitch offers a multi-module electronic payments platform architecture centered on MX Payment™ for the full payment value chain (issuing, acquiring, switching, processing, securing), supplemented by cloud-hosted MX Plus PaaS™. Consumer-facing sub-brands include Naira.Com (bill payment/wallet), Naira Plus (bulk payments/e-collections), PelPay (eCommerce gateway), and SwitchPay (VTU). Sector-specific solutions include MX E-Gov™ (identity management), MX Health™ (healthcare cards), MX Move™ (ticketing), MX Campus™ (student cards), and MX Enterprise™ (HR management). A new product, Kardit, targets Nigeria-Asia commerce corridor payments. The company operates as a CBN-licensed switching and processing service provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Naira.Com: Online payment platform for bill payments, money transfer, airtime top-up, and donations
• Naira Plus
• PelPay
• SwitchPay
• MX Payment
• MX E-Gov
• MX Health
• MX Move
• MX Campus
• MX Enterprise
• MX Plus PaaS
• MX ID
• MX Transport

Products and services

• MX Payment™
• MX Plus PaaS™

Quantifiable outcome

• 18% average annual growth
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• CashAfricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Partnership to advance tap-to-pay adoption across Nigeria. CashAfrica contributes NFC-based contactless layer and CashTap solution while ChamsSwitch provides licensed switching, processing, and scheme integration infrastructure. Creates complete, compliant, interoperable contactless payment stack for banks, fintechs, and merchants.
• NIBSS (Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with NIBSS infrastructure for interbank settlement and payment processing in Nigeria.
• NIMC (National Identity Management Commission)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration for identity management solutions and biometric enrollment services.
• NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission)coreTechnology or IntegrationRegulatory and integration partnership for telecommunications payment services.
• VisacoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment scheme integration for Visa card transactions, QR payments, and digital payment services.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment scheme integration for Mastercard transactions and card services.
• UnionPay InternationalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment scheme integration for UnionPay card transactions including international payments.
• MTN NigeriacoreTechnology or IntegrationAirtime service aggregation. Chamsswitch connected as Airtime Service Aggregator to major telecoms.
• Glo (Globacom)coreTechnology or IntegrationAirtime service aggregation for telecom operator.
• Airtel NigeriacoreTechnology or IntegrationAirtime service aggregation for telecom operator.
• 9mobilecoreTechnology or IntegrationAirtime service aggregation for telecom operator.
• Providus BankstrategicTechnology or IntegrationBanking partnership for financial services integration.
• VFD GroupstrategicTechnology or IntegrationFinancial services group partnership for payment solutions.
• Global PayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayment solutions partner for payment distribution.
• M2M GroupstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for solutions. Resellers and solution providers selling M2M Group's solutions. Software companies providing complementary solutions with add-on features.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Paystack: Nigerian payment gateway acquired by Stripe. Competes directly with PelPay in the e-commerce and online payment gateway segment, and with broader Chams Switch processing offerings.
• Moniepoint: Nigerian payment processing platform serving banks, fintechs, and merchants. Overlaps with Chams Switch in merchant acquiring, payment processing, and POS transaction infrastructure.
• Interswitch: Largest Nigerian payment switch and processor, also a CBN-licensed switch operator. Direct competitor across card processing, payment gateway, and interbank switching, with substantially greater scale.
• Flutterwave: Pan-African payment platform headquartered in Nigeria. Competes with Chams Switch on payment gateway, processing, and cross-border payment orchestration for African businesses.
• Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform operating across multiple African countries. Comparable to Chams Switch in payment processing, collections, and digital banking infrastructure for banks and merchants.
• Remita: Nigerian payment processor and gateway with strong government and enterprise penetration. Comparable to Chams Switch across B2B payment processing, bulk payment, and e-collections.
• Paga: Nigerian mobile payment and consumer wallet operator. Comparable to Naira.Com sub-brand and competes in the consumer-facing bill payment and money transfer segment.
• Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa): African cross-border payments network. Comparable to Chams Switch's potential cross-border ambitions (e.g., Kardit) and competes in cross-border payment orchestration and settlement.

Regional players

• 2C2P: Southeast Asia-based payment switch and processor with comparable full-stack platform including card issuing, acquiring, switching, and authentication - relevant as a regional benchmark for Chams Switch's MX Payment platform.

Broad incumbents

• Network International: Larger, established payment processor operating across Middle East and Africa. Offers overlapping merchant acquiring, card processing, and switching capabilities with a much broader geographic and product footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/chamsswitch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chamsswitch-plc
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChamsswitchLtd

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chams Switch