Six years ago, on October 15, 2020, Paystack entered a new chapter when Stripe agreed to acquire the Nigerian fintech company for $200 million, marking one of the biggest startup acquisitions in Nigeria’s history.

At the time, Paystack had about 60,000 customers and a straightforward mission: help businesses collect payments online.

Six years later, the company has expanded across African markets, launched a consumer app and acquired a microfinance bank. What started as a business built around moving money is now evolving into one that wants to hold it, lend it and earn from it.

As Paystack marks six years since the acquisition, here are six things that have changed about the company.

1. Paystack has grown beyond Nigeria

When Stripe agreed to acquire Paystack on October 15, 2020, the company served about 60,000 businesses. Stripe’s backing helped it pursue its ambition of making online payments easier across Africa.

Today, Paystack serves businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, with approvals in Egypt and Rwanda. It has also hired internationally, including through an engineering hub in Dubai.

Expansion brought a complication: costs do not always move with revenue. Paystack earns much of its income in local currencies, while some expenses are denominated in dollars.

After the naira lost more than half its value following June 2023 and the Kenyan shilling weakened, local revenue became worth less in dollar terms. Paystack responded by laying off 33 employees in Europe and the United Arab Emirates.

Its bigger footprint also brought currency risk and higher operating costs.

2. Bank transfers became central to payments

Nigerian customers increasingly turned to bank transfers, often cheaper and more dependable than cards.

Paystack introduced pay-with-transfer in 2020. By 2023, transfers accounted for 34% of its payments in Nigeria, up from 12% in 2021. The shift showed where customers preferred to move their money.

In 2023, Paystack launched Virtual Terminal, giving physical shops a Paystack-Titan bank account customers could transfer money into. Merchants could now use Paystack for transactions away from websites.

There was a catch: the balances sat with Titan Trust Bank, so the interest earned went to the bank, not Paystack. More money passed through Paystack, but it did not earn the interest.

3. Brass showed Paystack the value and risk of deposits

In May 2024, Paystack led a group that acquired Brass, a business-banking startup that had struggled to process withdrawals since October 2023.

The deal gave Paystack a stake in business banking and showed how quickly confidence disappears when customers cannot access their funds.

Brass brought business accounts, but also revealed the responsibility of storing customer money. Processing payments is about making transactions work. Banking also requires enough liquidity, trust, and operational discipline to ensure customers can withdraw when needed.

Deposits were becoming an opportunity for Paystack, but also a risk it could no longer treat as somebody else’s problem.

4. Zap pushed Paystack into consumer finance

In March 2025, Paystack launched Zap, its first consumer app. It invited ordinary users to interact directly with Paystack and keep money available for future spending. Customer deposits were held at Titan.

By the end of April 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria had fined Paystack ₦250 million.

However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fined Paystack ₦250 million ($190,000) because its peer-to-peer transfer app, Zap, operated as a digital wallet without the proper deposit-taking licence.

A payments licence allows a company to move money between accounts. Holding customer funds in a balance people can spend later requires different permission. Zap had moved Paystack towards that business before its licence fully matched the product.

Zap later received regulatory approval. The lesson was plain: ambition cannot replace permission to hold deposits.

5. Paystack became part of a larger financial group

In January 2026, Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank and said Paystack MFB would lend to businesses first, then individuals. Days later, it formed a holding company, The Stack Group.

Paystack said payment volume had grown more than twelvefold since 2020 and that the group was profitable.

A microfinance banking licence gives Paystack a route to accept deposits, lend and earn interest, reducing its dependence on transaction fees. It can earn from balances and loans, not only payments.

In June 2026, Brass announced it would stop operating independently and move customers to Paystack MFB.

In August 2026, Allawee, a card company Paystack had quietly acquired in 2025, told customers their accounts would close on December 1, 2026, and asked them to open new Paystack accounts.

The acquisitions bring existing customers into the group.

6. Paystack must convince people to keep money with it

This may be the hardest change. Paystack built its reputation online, but that strength does not automatically translate into deposits.

Competitors such as Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay have grown through agent networks. In markets and neighbourhoods, agents help traders deposit and withdraw money, becoming familiar points of contact.

Daily interactions can turn a payment service into a place people trust with their money.

Paystack has no comparable physical footprint. Its card machine never developed into an agency network on the same scale, so it must persuade customers to open and fund accounts one by one. Brass and Allawee bring existing customers, but keeping them requires trust and reliable access to funds.

Conclusion

Stripe bought Paystack in 2020 as a company that helped businesses move money. Six years later, Paystack has regional reach, consumer ambitions and a new microfinance bank.

Its next challenge is not simply processing more transactions. It must convince customers to let it hold their money, lend responsibly, and return funds whenever needed.

Can the company that made online payments easier become a bank people trust with their balances?