Nombank aims for larger share of SME banking market using transaction data

Nombank, the banking subsidiary of Nigerian fintech firm Nomba, is strategically expanding its presence in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking sector. The company plans to utilize merchant transaction data, generated through Nomba's extensive payments platform, to extend credit and offer banking products to businesses that have historically faced significant barriers in accessing traditional financing.

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My interest in this space goes back to my undergraduate thesis, where I examined how microfinance banks support SMEs and how access to capital determines whether a small business survives or grows.

This initiative addresses a critical gap in Nigeria's financial landscape, where millions of SMEs, despite contributing substantially to economic activity, remain largely excluded from formal credit systems. Conventional lenders often demand collateral, audited financial statements, and extensive documentation, requirements that many small businesses struggle to fulfill. Seun Osunkeye, Managing Director of Nombank, highlighted this challenge, stating that Nombank's approach is designed to assess the financial health of merchants based on their actual business activity.

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Working closely with merchants at Nomba reinforced what I had seen years earlier. Many SMEs are viable businesses but remain locked out of the formal financial system because financial products were never designed around how they actually operate.

Osunkeye's interest in this area stems from his undergraduate research on microfinance banks and SME access to capital. His work with Nomba merchants reinforced his understanding that many viable SMEs are locked out of the formal financial system because existing products do not align with their operational realities. Nombank was established after Nomba acquired a microfinance banking license, enabling the fintech to mobilize deposits and offer credit through a regulated entity.

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We no longer see Nombank purely as infrastructure sitting underneath Nomba. We see it as a distinct banking business with its own customer segment and value proposition.

Initially conceived as infrastructure for Nomba's payments ecosystem, Nombank has evolved into a distinct banking business targeting its own customer segment. The lender's expansion is fueled by the significant growth in transaction volumes processed on the Nomba platform, which increased from approximately N7 billion in May 2025 to about N250 billion in May 2026. Osunkeye emphasized that this wealth of data provides unique insights into merchants' cash flow, seasonality, and performance, offering a distinct advantage over traditional lenders and credit bureaus. "Our advantage is data," Osunkeye stated, noting that while banking licenses can be obtained by others, the institutional trust and years of accumulated transaction data are far more difficult to replicate.

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Our advantage is data. A banking licence is something others can obtain. The institutional trust and years of transaction data built from serving merchants are much harder to replicate.