Smartcash Payment Service Bank

What Smartcash Payment Service Bank does

Smartcash Payment Service Bank (SmartCash PSB) is a Nigerian digital financial services provider operating as a Payment Service Bank (PSB) under the Central Bank of Nigeria's regulatory framework. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Lagos, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airtel Nigeria (itself part of Airtel Africa's financial services division) and operates a mobile money platform delivering instant transfers, bill payments, and savings products to unbanked and underserved Nigerian populations, as well as small enterprises. Distribution is delivered through three primary channels: a self-service mobile application, a USSD platform for feature-phone users, and a physical network of approximately 60,000 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals for cash-in/cash-out services.

Name

Smartcash Payment Service Bank

Legal name

SmartCash Payment Service Bank

Website

https://smartcashpsb.ng

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Service Banking

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Bank-to-Bank Transfers & Pay-by-Bank (Consumer & Merchant) (FSAMAFAC)

Keywords

• Mobile money services
• Payment service bank
• Digital banking
• Mobile payments
• Bill payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Mobile Money Transaction Services: Revenue generated from mobile money transactions including transfers, bill payments, and other digital financial services. Under PSB regulations, the company is prohibited from lending activities.
2. Payment Service Fees: Fees from providing payment services through PoS terminals and digital channels to merchants and consumers.
3. Savings and Deposit Services: Revenue from managing customer deposits, earning interest spread on the 15% annual savings rate offered to customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SmartCash Payment Service Bank is a digital financial services provider and mobile money platform operating as a subsidiary of Airtel Nigeria. It offers free interbank transfers, bill payments, a savings product with a 15% annual interest rate, PoS terminal services for cash-in/cash-out, and a smartphone financing programme. The platform operates through a mobile app, USSD, and physical PoS terminals to serve unbanked and underserved populations across Nigeria.

Product overview

SmartCash Payment Service Bank is a subsidiary of Airtel Nigeria operating as a Payment Service Bank (PSB) in Nigeria. The core offering is its mobile money platform and digital wallet (SmartCash PSB) which provides free transfers, bill payments, and a 15% annual savings rate. Supporting products include approximately 60,000 PoS terminals for merchant services, a Smartphone Financing Programme in partnership with Intelligra for device purchases, and cashback incentives. The Zero-Charges initiative eliminates fees on interbank transfers, bill payments, and SMS notifications. SmartCash PSB competes against established players like OPay, PalmPay, and MTN's MoMo PSB in Nigeria's mobile money market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SmartCash PSB Mobile App/Digital Wallet Mobile money subsidiary of Airtel Nigeria offering digital financial services including transfers, bill payments, savings with 15% annual rate, and cashback incentives. Operates as a Payment Service Bank under Nigerian regulations, providing free interbank transfers and zero-fee bill payments to unbanked and underserved populations.
• SmartCash Savings Account Savings product offering a flat 15% annual savings rate to attract and retain customers in Nigeria's competitive mobile money market, earning revenue through interest spread on deposits.
• SmartCash PoS Terminal Service Point-of-Sale terminal deployment enabling merchant transactions and consumer cash-in/cash-out services. SmartCash has deployed approximately 60,000 PoS terminals for physical banking services.
• Smartphone Financing Programme Device financing initiative offering flexible payment plans for smartphones, with initial offering of Itel A50 at N19,000 or N21,000 down payments. Repayments are processed through SmartCash, enabling device ownership and mobile money adoption among underserved users.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.2 million active users from 60.89 million potential subscribers
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• IntelligracoreTechnology or Integration · 13 November 2025SmartCash PSB partnered with device financing firm Intelligra to launch a Smartphone Financing Programme enabling eligible subscribers to purchase devices like the Itel A50 with down payments of N19,000 or N21,000. Repayments are processed through SmartCash, creating a bundled device and financial services offering to drive adoption.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PalmPay: Leading Nigerian mobile wallet with transfers, bill payments, savings, and merchant services; competes head-to-head with SmartCash on zero/low-fee positioning and unbanked acquisition.
• MTN MoMo PSB: MTN Nigeria's Payment Service Bank offering transfers, bill pay, and savings; structurally identical PSB model and telecom-led distribution as SmartCash, with MTN's larger subscriber base as competing parent pool.
• Moniepoint: Nigerian digital bank with ~1M PoS terminals and dominant merchant/agent distribution; competes directly with SmartCash's transfer and payment services while vastly outdistributing it on physical infrastructure.
• OPay: Nigeria's largest mobile money/PSB competitor with deep agent network, bill payments, transfers, and merchant PoS; directly overlaps SmartCash's core offerings and customer segment.

Regional players

• Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform with bill pay, merchant payments, and mobile money integrations across multiple African markets; comparable on payment processing and EBPP at regional scale.

Emerging players

• FairMoney: Nigerian digital lender/wallet with overlapping target customers (underserved users); comparable on payments side but extends beyond PSB-eligible products via lending partnerships.
• Carbon (formerly Paylater): Nigerian digital finance app with payments and lending; comparable customer segment and PSB-style digital distribution, though product range extends beyond PSB limits.
• Paga: Early Nigerian mobile money operator with payments and agent network; pre-PSB but offers similar transfers and bill pay, with comparable unbanked targeting.

Others

• Airtel Money (Airtel Africa group): Parent-group mobile money brand across other Airtel Africa markets; relevant for group-level strategy, comparable PSB-style digital financial services, and the planned mobile money IPO.
• MFS Africa (Onafriq): Pan-African mobile money interoperability and payments network; comparable as enabling infrastructure for cross-border mobile money transfers and digital wallet payments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartcashpsb
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartcashpsb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartcash-psb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Smartcash Payment Service Bank