Nigeria’s Globacom has joined the rush to open payment service banks (PSBs) with the launch of its MoneyMaster PSB offering. MoneyMaster was granted a payment service bank licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2020.

MoneyMaster PSB will, like other PSBs, and working in line with CBN regulations, facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, issue debit and prepaid cards, operate electronic wallets and inbound remittances and carry out other services.

To open an account, all the customer needs to do is dial a code and then follow the prompts from any telecommunications network; MoneyMaster PSB is network-agnostic. However, the operator says it will leverage Globacom’s nationwide coverage and many agents in rural and urban areas for its rollout.

As for product branding, the main solution is called G-Kala, which turns a phone into a wallet (the customer’s phone number will be used as his or her account number). With G-Kala a user can receive cash from any mobile app and move money to other accounts.

According to the Nairametrics website, Globacom has said it will be engaging over 100,000 agents and deploying kiosks across the country. Moneymaster will, says the operator, be leveraging mobile phones, PoS, and the web to provide financial services to millions of Nigerians who may otherwise be excluded from the financial system.

Local media outlets point out that Moneymaster’s launch completes the entry of all mobile network operators in Nigeria into the financial services business through services like 9Mobile’s 9PSB, MTN’s MoMo and Airtel’s Smartcash. Another service, Hope Payment Service Bank Limited (Hope PSBank) is described as Nigeria’s premier digital-first bank.

Globacom has said that close to 50% of Nigerians do not have access to a banking service and 82% of Nigerians are currently receiving their income in cash. It has added that its PSB is geared towards the 95% financial inclusion target by 2024 set by the CBN.