Access Bank’s planned expansion to eight African countries will come with huge gains from the 1.3 billion people targeted in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) deal. The bank’s strong digital banking platforms will play well in enabling electronic payments across countries of operation and beyond. The lender is not only focusing on key markets to support regional trade and targeting new opportunity markets but positioning its operations as a trade and payments gateway to the world,
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Access Bank repositions digital payment to reap AfCFTA gains
Access Bank will be leveraging on its spread across the African continent and deep investment in technology to reap gains coming from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA).
The AfCTA trade bloc offers a potential market of over 1.3 billion people and a Gross Domestic Product size of over $3 trillion. According to The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), there is the potential for intra-African trade to rise to 15.5 per cent as a share of total African trade by 2022 compared with 10.2 per cent from 2010.
For many businesses, securing a seat at the stable ensures that Nigerians can influence negotiations and protect national interests.
While the agreement is not a silver bullet, due to structural barriers to trade, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, said he saw many benefits to his bank and the various African economies within the AfCTA deal.
In a report titled: ‘Realigning for Growth’ released by the bank, Wigwe said Access Bank would be optimizing and taking maximum gain of the trade agreement by repositioning its operations and payment platforms to serve more customers across the continent.
He said Access Bank Group has consistently delivered growth and created value over time and has the largest customer base in Africa, with a significant share of digitally active clients. The bank is also becoming an aggregator in Africa by building a global payments gateway, offering holistic trade finance support and offering correspondent banking services.
It is also focusing on key markets to support regional trade by targeting new opportunity markets and positioning the bank as a trade and payments gateway to the world.
He identified eight African countries for a potential expansion as it seeks to benefit from the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA.
The bank already operates in 12 countries following a series of acquisitions spanning from Kenya to Nigeria. The markets of interest are Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Angola, Namibia and Ethiopia, according to an online presentation emailed by the Lagos-based lender.
It will also use its London-based unit as an “anchor for growth” to expand representative offices in countries such as India, Lebanon and China, Wigwe disclosed.
The African trade pact aims to bolster intra-regional commerce by lowering or eliminating cross-border tariffs, facilitating the movement of capital and people, promoting investment and paving the way for the establishment of a continental-wide customs union.
Access Bank plans to eventually expand into 22 African countries to cushion challenges in some markets, diversify earnings and take advantage of growth opportunities in the region.
The lender, which is looking to transition to a holding company this year, plans to open subsidiaries in insurance brokerage, consumer lending and agency banking as well as payments to boost revenue, Wigwe added.
The bank is equally transforming payments and remittances using cheap forex from international remittances to feed trade, leveraging AccessAfrica connections to wallets and payment platforms.
It is also building on partnerships with financial investors, Development Finance Institutions, among others and providing strategic support to protect and grow partners’ value.
Continuing, he said the bank has continued to deliver strong results and is focused on generating sustainable revenue across all income lines.
“The bank’s gross revenue grew 26 per cent to N592.8 billion (from nine-months 2018 to nine-months 2020 with steady growth across all income lines. Strong and diversified revenue growth has been driven by expansive retail banking growth and increased velocity of transactions, optimising value chain of wholesale banking customers, credit growth engine, prioritizing margin growth through efficiencies and delighting customers at every digital payment touchpoint,” Wigwe said.
The bank chief explained that with the growth of its operations, the lender has maintained a focus on efficiency in the last three quarters through sustainable cost to income ratio of 50 to 55 per cent given investments in digital and growth over the next two years.
“Access Bank is driving Group revenue growth through retail expansion with the bank’s retail banking business grown consistently across all income lines, driven by strong focus on consumer lending, payments and remittances, digitization of customer journeys, and customer acquisition at scale”.
“We have maintained strong capital levels despite investments for growth, accumulating capital over time. Opportunities for growth will be supported by a digital strategy that will set us apart as a clear-cut digital leader. Our Africa expansion strategy is deliberate and disciplined, with a targeted focus and approach, supported by key enablers,” Wigwe added.
The tier-1 bank is also taking advantage of the expansion strategy to diversify its earnings and risk. It said Nigeria will remain its largest market countries of presence targeting an impactful presence, reaping economies of scale, and leveraging digital and access to cheap funding sources.
Across Africa, there is an opportunity for Access bank to expand to high-potential markets.
Its Holding Company (HoldCo) will consist of four subsidiaries which include the Access Bank Group, Payments business, consumer lending and agency banking as well as insurance brokerage.
“We will therefore reorganise to capture these opportunities by transitioning to a HoldCo structure. Through this reorganisation, we will create new product revenues without taking additional risk for the enterprise, ensure diversification of earnings, and support outside of Africa expansion,” he said.
“Access Bank Group will consist of Nigeria, Africa and International subsidiaries while the Payments subsidiary will leverage the strong suite of the Bank’s assets. The Consumer Lending business has seen greater than 60 per cent growth in digital lending volume and value while the Insurance subsidiary will adopt a dynamic and creative approach to deliver value-added services focused to meet customer insurance needs,” he stated.
For instance, Access Bank is in partnership with Coronation Insurance to offer insurance products to the Bank’s customers. Access Bank-Coronation Insurance bancassurance is already available in Nigeria and Ghana.
Access Insurance Brokerage would adopt a dynamic and creative approach to provide a value- added insurance broking services focused to meeting customers’ insurance protection needs.
The bank says it recognises its unique role in preserving the environment in which we operate as well as positively impacting the society through responsible investing.
The AfCFTA plans to ease non-tariff barriers to trade on the continent, such as the reduction of red tape (which improves the time to export and import), removal of quotas and licenses, and easing of rules of origin, among others.
Also, it is expected that the agreement would lead to cheaper consumer goods prices which will drive improved wellbeing and promote access to cheaper intermediate goods for the industrial sector.
There is also the case for economies of scale as firms try to sell to the bigger African market, leading to increased efficiency. The last benefit is that countries would be more committed to industrialization to really benefit from the bigger African market as exports in much of Africa is currently primary commodities.
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…….GTBank customers can now pay with it and businesses on HabariPay’s Squad gateway can now accept it.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or “the Group“) today announced that two of its subsidiaries are live with Google Pay on the day it launches in Nigeria. Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (“GTBank”) can add their GTBank debit cards to Google Wallet and pay with Google Pay online, in Nigeria and internationally. Businesses that use Squad, the payment gateway run by the Group’s payments subsidiary HabariPay, can now offer Google Pay to their customers at checkout.
The Group is therefore present at both ends of the same transaction: with the person paying and with the business being paid.
For GTBank customers, the change is simple. They add their GTBank debit card to Google Wallet once. After that, they choose Google Pay at checkout, pick the card and confirm, without typing a card number, expiry date or CVV again. Google Pay replaces the card number with a secure digital token, so the merchant does not receive the actual card details. The card can be used wherever Google Pay is accepted online, including for subscriptions, travel bookings, food delivery, bills and digital services.
For businesses on Squad, “Pay with Google Pay” now sits at the top of the Squad checkout, alongside card, bank transfer, USSD, bank payments and Squad’s buy-now-pay-later options. A customer with a card in Google Wallet selects Google Pay, chooses the card, confirms, and is returned to the merchant’s site once the payment is verified. Google Pay is switched on by default for every business on Squad, and a merchant can choose to turn it off. Merchants set up for international payments can accept Google Pay from customers anywhere in the world, which opens Nigerian businesses to buyers abroad, including the diaspora. Fewer fields mean fewer points at which a customer can abandon a purchase, which matters most to the small and growing businesses that make up much of Squad’s merchant base.
Commenting on the launch, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said: “Most failed online payments are not refused, they are abandoned. Somewhere along the way the customer gives up, and the business never learns about the sale it lost. As a customer centric Financial Services Group, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to deliver payment solutions that make transacting safe and simple for our various customer Groups. With Google Pay, what matters to us is that we are ready on both sides from the first day: a GTBank customer can pay with it, and a business on Squad can accept it.”
He added: “This is what a group structure is for. Our Bank and our Payments Business were built to do different jobs, and today they meet at the same checkout. We will keep putting the full weight of the Group behind those small moments where people decide whether paying digitally is worth the effort. When it is, everyone in the transaction wins: the customer, the merchant and the wider economy that depends on both.”
The Managing Director of HabariPay, Mr Eduofon Japhet, said: “For a merchant, every extra field at checkout is a reason for a customer to leave. Squad businesses now get Google Pay inside the checkout they already use, so their customers can pay in a few taps with a card they have already saved. A merchant set up for international payments can now be paid with Google Pay by a customer anywhere in the world, with nothing new to integrate.”
Availability. GTBank customers can add an eligible GTBank debit card through the Google Wallet app on Android or through their Google Account. From today, Google Pay is on by default for all businesses on the Squad payment gateway, and merchants can choose to turn it off. Squad merchants set up for international payments can accept Google Pay from anywhere in the world. More information is available at www.gtbank.com and www.squadco.com.
Zenith Bank Plc is set to host the sixth edition of its flagship technology event, Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2026: Future Forward 6.0, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, under the theme, “AI: Embrace or Extinct.”
Renowned for its scale and showcase of technological innovation, the annual Tech Fair has evolved into a platform for connecting ideas, talent and opportunities. Over the years, the event has brought together technology leaders, entrepreneurs, and young innovators to explore emerging technologies, showcase solutions and examine the future of the digital economy.
Conceived by the Bank’s Founder, Jim Ovia, CFR, the initiative reflects his vision of empowering young Nigerians through technology and nurturing inventors capable of developing solutions with global relevance. It also reinforces Zenith Bank’s commitment to digital advancement and the growth of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
The impact of the Tech Fair is evident in the solutions emerging from its competitions. Previous winners include JumpnPass, which developed a self-checkout solution for retail, and CreditChek, which uses artificial intelligence and open banking to streamline credit verification. At the 2025 edition, TrustLoopwon the hackathon for its digital identity verification solution, while Cubbes Technologies won the startup pitch competition with its AI-powered EdTech learning platform. Through millions in prize funding and mentorship, the Tech Fair continues to support promising innovators in developing practical solutions to real-world challenges.
For the first time, the Tech Fair will be held virtually, opening participation to a wider borderless audience across Nigeria and beyond. This year’s theme explores the growing influence of AI and challenges individuals and organisations to consider howbest to harness its potential in an increasingly technology-driven world. The event will offer participants an opportunity to discover emerging innovations, gain fresh insights and engage with ideas shaping the future of work and business.
The Tech Fair will be accessible via Zoom, Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Be part of the future of technology. Register now at www.zenithbank.com/techfair and experience the possibilities of AI at Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2026.
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AUBA Commences Comtempt Proceedings Against WEMPCO Directors over Alleged Disobidence of Court Order
Mr. Lewis Tung and his brother Robert Tung
The Federal High Court, presided over by Honourable Justice Aluko, has granted an application by United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc for substituted service of Form 49 on directors of Wempco named as alleged contemnors in the case of UBA v. Wempco.
The application forms part of proceedings seeking to determine whether the named individuals disobeyed an order of the court and whether they should be committed to prison for contempt.
The directors named as alleged contemnors are Lewis Shui Ngor Tung, Phillip Shui Chei Tung, M.A. Ola Yusuf, Tung Lawrence Blake, Aali Aare Hadji Tokunbo, Paul Shui Po Tung, Tung Robert, C.L. Ip and Taiwo Alli.
In advancing the application, counsel to UBA argued that service of Form 49 on the alleged contemnors was necessary to enable them to appear before the court and show cause why an order of committal should not be made against them.
He also argued that the Directors of Wempco and some members of staff took illegal steps in an attempt to disobey the Order of Court.
The court’s decision to grant substituted service provides a procedural step towards bringing the notice to the attention of the individuals concerned in accordance with the court’s directions.
Form 49 is a notice requiring an alleged contemnor to show cause why an order of committal to prison should not be made against them for alleged disobedience of a court order.
The Federal High Court had earlier made an Order of Mareva Injunction and appointed a Receiver/Manager over some of the Assets of Wempco following the indebtedness of Wempco to UBA in the sum of N61,445,695,993.76 (Sixty One Billion FourHundred and Forty-Five Million Six Hundred and Ninety Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Three Naira, Seventy Six Kobo).
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