Sycamore gets microfinance bank licence

Sycamore, a financial services company based in Lagos, has secured a microfinance bank license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This new license establishes Sycamore Microfinance Bank, granting the company the ability to accept customer deposits under a regulated framework and process payments directly via the national payment infrastructure.

Previously operating as a lending platform and an asset management arm, Sycamore's new license adds a crucial third pillar: deposit-taking and independent payment processing. This eliminates the need to route transactions through partner banks, allowing for faster settlement times and a regulated layer of protection for customer funds. The company connects directly to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the core of electronic payments in the country.

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Our customers have asked for the ability to save and hold funds on our platform, not just borrow or invest. The microfinance bank licence lets us offer that in a regulated environment where their deposits are protected.

Babatunde Akin-Moses, Sycamore's Group CEO, stated that the license addresses a frequent request from customers who wanted the ability to save and hold funds on the platform. "Our customers have asked for the ability to save and hold funds on our platform, not just borrow or invest," he said. "The microfinance bank licence lets us offer that in a regulated environment where their deposits are protected."

Onyinye Okonji, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, explained that the microfinance bank is designed to serve the same demographic Sycamore has built its lending and investment businesses around: working professionals and small business owners seeking a comprehensive suite of financial services from a single provider. This integration aims to streamline financial management for customers who currently use traditional banks for savings and Sycamore for credit or investment products.

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Most of our customers already use a traditional bank for savings and come to us for credit or investment products. We want them to be able to do all of that in one place, with the same level of trust and regulatory oversight they expect from any licensed financial institution.