Sycamore, a Lagos-based financial services company, has received a microfinance bank licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a move that gives its more than 400,000 customers direct access to deposit accounts and faster payment processing through the national payments infrastructure.
The licence, granted to a new entity called Sycamore Microfinance Bank, allows the company to accept customer deposits under a regulated banking framework. It also connects Sycamore directly to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, the backbone of electronic payments in the country. For customers, this translates to faster transaction settlement times and a regulated layer of protection for funds held on the platform.
Until now, Sycamore operated primarily as a lending platform licensed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, alongside an asset management arm licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The MFB licence adds a third pillar: the ability to take deposits and process payments independently, rather than routing them through partner banks.
Babatunde Akin-Moses, Sycamore’s Group CEO, said the licence addresses a gap that existing customers have repeatedly raised. “
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,” he said.
The practical impact for everyday users centres on two things: cost and speed. Direct NIBSS connectivity means Sycamore no longer depends on third-party banks to settle payments on behalf of its customers. Transactions that previously required intermediaries can now be processed in-house, reducing both processing time and the fees associated with multi-party settlements.
Onyinye Okonji, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, said the company designed the MFB to serve the same demographic it has built its lending and investment businesses around: working professionals and small business owners who want access to a full range of financial services from a single provider.
