Money Master PSB: New Face of Payment

Oluchi Chibuzor

To accelerate financial inclusion, aimed at achieving 95 percent of bankable adults accessing one financial services or another by 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria initiated a framework for the establishment of a Payment Service Bank in Nigeria.

The initiative, which builds on several prior programmes of the apex lender such as the introduction of microfinance banking, Agent banking, tiered know-your-Customer requirements, and Mobile Money Operation (MMO), aims to take banking services to rural areas by leveraging “mobile and digital channels to enhance financial inclusion and stimulate economic activities at the grassroots through the provision of financial services.”

On August 28,2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria granted full licence to Moneymaster Payment Service Bank, one of the early movers into this space. Upon this  approval of the CBN, MMPSB formally  began operations on Wednesday February 8, 2023. At the launch event were a broad audience of its target market, which included representatives of several markets and trading centres in Lagos including Ladipo, Mile 12, Computer Village main markets, and student union representatives from University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and Yaba College of Technology.

An official of the payment service bank had remarked at the event that “Moneymaster PSB will bring convenience and inclusion across all our target segments of the population. Your phone is your bank. Aside from the benefits to our customers, we are onboarding a very large number of agents for cash in and cash out, through which we are creating new jobs in our various communities, which is also a boost to the nation’s economy. This is the beginning of our journey to revolutionize the financial services landscape in the country.”

This statement has become the defining visionary guide post for the trajectory of Moneymaster PSB (MMPSB) since it began commercial operations.

The Growing Interest

Since starting commercial operations in 2022, MMPSB’s client base had been growing with millions of customers leveraging its digital channels such as USSD, mobile banking app and internet banking to open accounts, buy airtime and data, pay utility bills and do so much more. This positive growth trajectory has been fuelled by the several innovations and services introduced by the Moneymaster to delight  its customers across the country.

In addition to its digital banking credentials, MMPSB is driving financial inclusion aggressively with its agent network. The bank currently has agents in all states of the federation and intends to grow this significantly in few years.

This positive impact has also attracted the public sector players. Recently, Moneymaster was appointed one of the payment partners for the Lagos State’s ‘Ounje Eko’, a discount market aimed at providing essential food items at reduced prices to residents of the state amid rising food costs in the country. ‘Ounje Eko’ Food Markets programme spanned the 57 LCDAs of the five divisions of Lagos State and commenced on Sunday, March 17, 2024.

It is a bold testament of endorsement that Moneymaster Payment Service Bank was not just appointed a payment partner, it had more important food items allocated to it for payment collections, seeing the swift processing of transactions on its terminals. .

Catching Them Young

According to reliable sources, Moneymaster is committed to leaving no one behind its financial inclusion drive. Hence, the incorporation of a  a “catch them young” approach into the operationalization of its financial inclusion strategy. Its recent celebration of the Global Money Week underpins this insightful thought leadership. In a statement attributed to the company, Moneymaster activated various initiatives that included visits to schools to provide financial literacy education, publication of thought leadership videos on safety of funds, amongst other game changing initiatives. Also recently, Moneymaster was at the 2024 Interhouse sports of Strong Tower Academy, where it engage parents and students on the imperative of savings and moneymaster’s offering for a financially secured future.

Promising Outlook

Moneymaster, with its current growth trajectory is capable of  outperforming the market soon.  Its growing offering – USSD banking, mobile wallets, savings account, individual current, business accounts that allows customers to save and grow their money, purchase airtime and data and pay utility bills to more than 4,000 billers, are testaments to its  potential bolster the country’s vision of promoting financial inclusion.