The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday granted MTN licence to commence operations of the proposed MOMO Payment Service Bank (PSB) to drive financial inclusion.
MTN Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest providers of communication services, in an official statement referred to its earlier notification issued on November 5, 2021, in which it communicated the receipt of the approval in principle from the CBN for MOMO PSB.
The approval comes in line with MTN’s anticipation of the approval since 2018, when the Federal Government announced its intension to issue the licence.
In a statement, the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpana, said: “MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) announces the receipt of a letter dated 8 April 2022 from the CBN addressed to Momo PSB conveying final approval to commence operations.
“The date of commencement will be communicated to the CBN in accordance with its requirements,” MTN said of MOMO PSB in a note to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), while affirming its commitment towards the CBN’s financial inclusion agenda.
“And we are leveraging our size. When we have subscribers of over 70 million spread across Nigeria with our infrastructural spread, we are well-positioned to cover everywhere. That’s exactly what we want to achieve,” a senior MTN official said, according to Premium Times.
The approval grants MTN the authority to operate virtually all the services offered by conventional commercial banks with the exception of granting credit and processing foreign exchange transactions.
MTN Nigeria announces the receipt of a letter dated 8 April 2022 from the CBN addressed to Momo PSB conveying final approval to commence operations. The date of commencement will be communicated to the CBN in accordance with its requirements.
