Flutterwave Gets Super Agent License from CBN to Aid Financial Inclusion Across the Country

In its continued drive to enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted an approval-in-principle (AIP) to fintech platform Flutterwave to operate as a super agent. 

According to Fintech Africa, the startup will work closely with the CBN, commercial banks, microfinance banks, other financial institutions (OFIs), government as well as ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders to ensure that the unbanked are introduced to the financial world.

This sees the payment gateway, Flutterwave, become the fourth Super Agent to be licensed since 2015, when the CBN issued the “Licensing Framework for Super Agents” to encourage infrastructure providers and operators, including telcos, to provide shared agent network services.

The other companies to have been granted super agent licenses are Innovectives Ltd, Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services Ltd and Yello Digital Financial Services.

The Super Agent licence will enable them form an agent network to deploy banking and financial payments services across the country. Their agents will be able too carry out services such as – cash deposit and withdrawal; bills payment; payment of salaries; funds transfer services (local money value transfer); cash disbursement and cash repayment of loans; as well as other agent mobile payments/banking services.

While acting as a super agent, Flutterwave will ensure proper monitoring and supervision of the activities of its agents to comply with set limits, as well as maintain information on the volume and value of transactions carried out by its agent.

The licence is still an approval-in-principle (AIP), which means Flutterwave has six months to prove to the regulatory body that it has what it takes. After this period, its performance will be reviewed to determine if it should be awarded a full license.

With the CBN licensing more super agents, agency banking will be evenly spread, making financial services more accessible to people in unbanked areas. This means the regulatory body gets closer to achieving its financial inclusion rate of 80% by 2020.