Flutterwave, a prominent Nigerian fintech and a leading payments technology company across Africa, has achieved a significant milestone by securing a highly coveted Switching and Processing License from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This license is widely regarded within the industry as the CBN's most valuable authorization for any fintech operation, marking a pivotal moment in Flutterwave’s growth trajectory.

The newly acquired Switching and Processing license empowers Flutterwave with expanded capabilities. It will enable the company to directly process financial transactions on behalf of other fintech companies and various financial institutions. Furthermore, this license grants Flutterwave the authority to issue payment cards directly to its customers, significantly reducing its reliance on third-party intermediaries. Prior to this, Flutterwave had been operating under a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license and an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license, demonstrating its existing operational framework within the Nigerian financial ecosystem.

Commenting on this landmark achievement, Olugbenga GB Agboola, CEO and Founder of Flutterwave, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This is big news for our customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders. It is an important milestone in our growth story.” He further emphasized the company's commitment, adding, “Building a thriving payments ecosystem in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is in line with our goal of developing a world-class and secure payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.”

Oluwabankole Falade, Flutterwave’s Chief Regulatory and Government Affairs Officer, also shared his excitement about finally obtaining the license. He highlighted the rigorous application process, which involved meeting stringent regulatory requirements stipulated by the CBN. Falade affirmed, “We’re thrilled to have been issued this license after fulfilling all of the regulatory requirements. The application process was very rigorous and included a detailed review of our operations as a business. As a switch, we have more responsibilities and will continue to work with Regulators to ensure we meet and exceed their expectations.” He underscored the thoroughness of the CBN's review, which meticulously examined every facet of Flutterwave’s business, including its financial standing.

Onyedikachim Nwankwo, Head of Product Marketing at Flutterwave, elaborated on the practical benefits of the license. He noted that it would allow Flutterwave to broaden its service offerings and explore a wider array of payment use cases within its 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,” Nwankwo explained, pointing to enhanced control and improved customer experience.

This latest development serves as a significant respite for Flutterwave, which has recently been in the public eye due to challenging reports. Notably, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issued a circular instructing financial institutions to cease partnerships with Flutterwave and ChipperCash, citing that the company was not licensed to operate in Kenya. This issue was further compounded when Flutterwave announced the discontinuation of its virtual dollar card service, Barter card, from Sunday, July 17, 2022, attributing the shutdown to an “update from their card partner, which had caused the card service to be unavailable for an extended period of time.”

Adding to its travails in Kenya, the Kenyan High Court froze substantial funds belonging to Flutterwave, including Sh400.6 million ($3.3 million) across three different bank accounts and about 19 Safaricom M-Pesa pay bill numbers, following an earlier freeze of Sh6.2 billion ($59.2 million) of the company’s assets in July. Industry observers had speculated that the company's difficulties might be linked to its lack of proper licensing in certain jurisdictions. However, with this new high-value license acquisition in Nigeria and recent high-level recruitments, it has become evident that Flutterwave is actively and aggressively working to strengthen its regulatory position and overcome past challenges.