Fintech company Flutterwave has secured a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide transaction switching and card processing services.

The Switching and Processing Licence will allow Flutterwave to process transactions amongst commercial banks, Fintechs and other electronic payments institutions, handle card transactions and participate in agency banking without an intermediary in Africa’s largest economy - Nigeria.

Widely regarded as CBN’s most valuable payments processing license, according to the company’s CEO and Founder Olugbenga GB Agboola, the new permit will help it achieve its objective to develop “a world class and secure payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.”

The San Francisco and Lagos-based payment infrastructure provider previously operated with Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licences.

Flutterwave has acquired the licence at a time it plans to solidify its position in existing markets and expand to other markets in Africa, despite regulatory hurdles in key markets like Kenya.

Flutterwave’s Chief Regulatory and Government Affairs Officer Oluwabankole Falade said they fulfilled all regulatory requirements after a “tough and rigorous process”.

According to the company executive, Flutterwave’s business operations, including financial balance sheets, were critically reviewed in the process.

Head of Product Marketing at Flutterwave Onyedikachim Nwankwo said: “The license will allow us to offer more services and explore more payment use cases for our ecosystem. With this license, we can offer more value to our customers while taking more control of our value chain to enable an improved payments experience for our enterprise, medium scale and retail customers.”

Flutterwave’s reach extends to over 34 African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.