HabariPay, the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Co Plc, recorded N3.8 billion profit after tax in 2024 as the bank pushes further into the fintech space.
This was disclosed by the company in its full-year 2024 financial results released over the weekend.
The fintech’s profit represents 81% growth when compared with the N2.1 billion it recorded in 2023.
This is also a reflection of the increase in operating income recorded by the fintech company in the period under review.
According to the 2024 financial report, HabariPay’s gross revenue increased by 23% to N5.8 billion in 2024 from N4.7 billion recorded in 2023, underpinned by significant growth on all key income lines.
Bank’s fintech gaining momentum
Amid the increasing competition in the fintech business space, GTCo said HabariPay is quickly emerging as a transformative player in the Nigerian financial technology arena, championing innovation and empowerment within the digital economy.
“Habari specializes in secure payment gateways that allow businesses to effortlessly make and receive payments, benefiting from an increasingly digital trend.
“By prioritizing the empowerment of businesses with essential tools for success in the digital age, Habari goes beyond merely enabling transactions; it actively contributes to economic growth and inclusivity across various sectors,” the company stated.
HabariPay’s core business operations include a payment gateway – payments are processed via virtual accounts, USSD, card, and bank transfer channels. It also engages in switching verticals, value-added verticals – bill payments for airtime vending, and distribution of bulk SMS processed through Value Added Service Aggregators licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
More insights
GTCO launched Habari in 2018 as a super-app that provides everything from streaming content to an e-commerce marketplace. The bank, with its ecosystem of small business customers, wanted to create a marketplace hub to support vendors across different industries.
- Though it was created by one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, it didn’t focus on providing banking services, and it struggled to gain traction among digital users.
- But in 2020, the lender announced its broader push into digital payments with a corporate restructuring that would make Habari a separate company wholly owned by the bank. In June 2021, Guaranty Trust Bank transitioned into a holding company from its standalone commercial banking structure.
- It made Habari Pay a standalone business offering payments, a marketplace, and small business services.
- HabariPay’s flagship product, Squad, combines a payment gateway and e-commerce platform with a Point-of-Sale business. HabariPay’s Squad is now competing with the likes of Interswitch, Paystack, and Flutterwave in the payment gateway business.
