Kenya 
Stop Calling Them Neobanks: The Pan-African Retail Bank Has Arrived
Nigeria
Financial Services
Kuda is now a nationally licensed Nigerian bank. FairMoney is a licensed microfinance bank with current accounts, savings, POS merchant solutions and NGN 150 billion in disbursed loans. TymeBank is profitable, valued at USD 1.5 billion, and expanding into Indonesia and Hong Kong. These are not neobanks. They are banks. The category name we have been using for five years is now misleading, and we argue here that continuing to use it obscures what is actually happening in African consumer banking.
In January 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria upgraded Kuda Bank's operating license to full national banking status. Kuda is now, formally and operationally, a Nigerian commercial bank. FairMoney, officially registered as MyCredit Investments Limited, has been a licensed microfinance bank for some time, offering curren...
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