Nigerian Fintech Fincra Expands Into Ghana

Nigerian payments infrastructure startup Fincra has secured a Payment Service Provider Licence from the Bank of Ghana, allowing the company to process local transactions and connect directly to the country’s financial system.

The licence lets Fincra collect payments in Ghanaian cedis, process transactions locally and receive inbound transfers into Ghana, the company said.

The approval expands Fincra’s regulatory footprint as African fintech firms race to build licensed payment infrastructure across multiple markets. It also comes two months after the company secured a payment service provider licence in Canada.

Chief Executive Wole Ayodele has increasingly positioned Fincra around infrastructure rather than consumer fintech products. They are arguing that the next phase of African fintech growth will depend on regulated systems that move money across borders more efficiently.

Ghana has become one of West Africa’s fastest-growing digital payments markets. Mobile money transactions reached GH¢1.912 trillion, or about $170 billion, in 2023. Informal cross-border trade between Ghana and neighbouring countries reached GH¢7.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from the Ghana Statistical Service.

“Ghana’s digital economy is accelerating rapidly, but the infrastructure to support enterprise-scale payment aggregation and inbound transfers is still too fragmented,” Ayodele said.

The company said businesses using its platform can now accept payments through local channels including MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, AirtelTigo Money and bank transfers. The licence also allows remittance firms and payroll platforms to send money directly into Ghanaian bank accounts and mobile wallets.

Fincra said the approval will also support automated business payments. Companies can create local cedi accounts and reconcile transactions through a single API integration without building separate local systems.

The move places Fincra among a small group of Nigerian fintech firms, including Flutterwave and Paystack, that have secured similar approvals in Ghana.

Founded in 2021, Fincra operates across more than 20 markets in Africa and supports payment flows across Africa, Europe and North America. The company is betting that demand for cross-border commerce will drive the need for more connected payment infrastructure across the continent.