Hydrogen, the fintech arm of Access Holdings, has reported a profit after tax of ₦1.8 billion in 2024, a massive jump from the ₦161 million it earned in 2023.
This growth which is over tenfold is a testament to Hydrogen’s expanding role in Nigeria’s digital payments space. Hydrogen has grown rapidly since its launch in 2022 and full rollout in 2023, driven by higher transaction volumes and a strong focus on efficiency.
In 2024, its operating income surged by 400%, from ₦2 billion to ₦10 billion. The fintech processed around ₦15 trillion worth of transactions last year alone, using products like InstantPay, POS terminals, Card services, and Payment Gateway solutions.
Hydrogen is competing with top players like Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paystack, and fellow bank-owned fintechs like GTCO’s HabariPay.
Banks are making serious moves into the fintech space. HabariPay, for example, posted ₦3.8 billion in profit after tax for 2024, up 81% from ₦2.1 billion the year before. Its gross revenue rose 23%, reaching ₦5.8 billion, according to its 2024 financial report.
However, not all bank fintech ventures are profitable yet. Stanbic IBTC’s Zest Payments, launched in late 2023, reported a ₦2 billion loss, showing that the fintech race is still highly competitive.
Meanwhile, Access Holdings also had a strong year overall. The group’s pre-tax profit climbed to ₦867 billion, from ₦729 billion a year earlier. Gross earnings surged to ₦4.878 trillion, almost doubling the ₦2.594 trillion recorded previously. Profit after tax rose slightly by 3.7%, to ₦642.22 billion.
