Nigerian fintech giant, Paystack has taken its boldest step yet beyond payments, acquiring Ladder Microfinance Bank. The fintech giant has quickly rebranded its new acquisition as Paystack Microfinance Bank (MFB) in a strategic shift that could reshape how African businesses access credit, deposits, and embedded financial services.

After nearly a decade building the backbone of online payments in Nigeria, the deal gives Paystack regulatory cover to hold deposits, lend directly to businesses and offer banking-as-a-service products.

More importantly, Paystack’s chief operating officer, Amandine Lobelle, highlighted that it allows the company to exert greater control over the trillions of naira that already flow through its platform every month, turning transaction data into a powerful engine for credit and treasury products.

“After 10 years of building payment infrastructure and going deep, we realised that businesses needed more than just getting paid to grow. We wanted to leverage the expertise that we have built over the last decade to continue to address some of the pain points that businesses have,” said Lobelle.

Paystack MFB will operate as a sister company to its payments business, initially focusing on working capital loans, merchant cash advances, overdrafts and term loans for small and medium-sized enterprises.

By using real-time payment data to underwrite loans, Paystack believes it can offer faster approvals and more accurate risk pricing than traditional lenders, directly tackling Nigeria’s estimated $32 billion small business financing gap.

For Paystack, founded in 2016 and acquired by Stripe in 2020, the move marks a strategic evolution from being just a payments processor to becoming a core part of the financial operating system for African businesses.

Today, Paystack supports more than 300,000 businesses across Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa and has become one of Africa’s most trusted fintech infrastructure providers.

The banking licence is a game-changer as payments, once Paystack’s main growth engine, are increasingly commoditised across Africa. Lending, deposits and treasury services offer deeper margins, stickier relationships and long-term sustainability.

By layering banking services on top of payments, Paystack is betting that infrastructure depth will outperform flashy consumer scale.

However, the move also throws the Nigerian-born fintech giant into fierce competition with digital -first lenders and neobanks such as Moniepoint, Kuda, OPay and PalmPay, which already operate at massive scale. Still, Paystack’s strength lies in its merchant-first focus and developer-friendly APIs.

DalaHill Law Practice and the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) have signed a Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF), marking a milestone in the launch of a climate finance initiative funded by the African Climate Foundation (ACF) and valued at US$100,000.

According to a statement by the firm, the signing took place during a kickoff ceremony at the BoA headquarters in Abuja and formalised the roles, responsibilities and shared commitments of both institutions in delivering the project. The framework was signed by Ayo Sotinrin, BoA Managing Director, and Mohammed Hamza, Managing Associate at DalaHill.

The ACF-funded initiative is designed to support BoA’s institutional transition towards climate-aligned agricultural finance. Central to the programme is the establishment of a Clean Energy Delivery and Innovation Unit (CEDIU), a dedicated function that will integrate climate risk considerations, environmental data and sustainability principles into the bank’s strategy, operations and investment decision-making.

Under the initiative, BoA will also be supported to develop Clean Energy Access Systems and Climate Finance Development Frameworks, alongside a pipeline of bankable, climate-aligned agricultural projects.

These projects are expected to attract domestic and international capital into the sector, contributing to efforts to bridge Nigeria’s estimated $247.3 billion financing gap for its green energy transition.

Speaking on behalf of DalaHill, Mohammed Hamza described the initiative as a pivotal intervention in Nigeria’s agricultural and climate finance landscape. He said the firm is acting as a trusted adviser, working with institutions to deliver catalytic and transformative solutions.

According to him, DalaHill is deploying a multidisciplinary technical team to support BoA’s transition into a climate-aligned institution capable of attracting finance for scalable, investment-ready agricultural projects.

He highlighted the strategic importance of the project, noting that while ACF has traditionally focused on renewable energy, climate alignment within the agricultural sector is critical to driving Nigeria’s broader energy transition. He added that the initiative represents ACF’s first climate finance grant promoting agriculture in Nigeria.

In his remarks, Sotinrin expressed appreciation to the project partners and acknowledged longstanding gaps within Nigeria’s agricultural finance ecosystem. He reaffirmed BoA’s commitment to driving systemic change by attracting climate-aligned expertise, strategic funding and increased national and international attention to the sector.

Sotinrin also noted that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s climate and sustainability agenda, referencing Nigeria’s participation at an ongoing global climate sustainability conference in Abu Dhabi.

He further highlighted strong government backing for BoA’s transformation, including presidential approval in October 2024 of a US$1 billion recapitalisation plan aimed at strengthening the bank’s capacity to support national development.

DalaHill Law Practice is a full-service commercial law firm headquartered in Abuja, with a strong track record in advising on economically catalytic projects across sectors including energy, infrastructure, finance, trade and emerging markets.

The firm is known for structuring complex transactions, managing regulatory risk and supporting projects that promote sustainable growth and long-term economic impact in Nigeria and beyond.

Kaspersky’s new global research reveals that 65% of online shoppers believe they can detect fraud on their own, while only 42% actually use security software to protect their payments and block malicious links.

Experts consider this a major risk for online buyers. Over the past year Kaspersky identified nearly 6.7 million phishing attacks globally impersonating online stores, payment systems, and banks, with 55.6% targeting online shoppers.

As the post-holiday and summer sales season kicks off, Kaspersky conducted a survey to examine consumer cybersecurity practices employed during online shopping. The findings show that 97% of respondents demonstrate a substantial level of awareness of online security risks and implement at least some measures to safeguard their digital transactions.

However, the survey found that fewer than half the participants use dedicated security software to block phishing attempts and protect payment transactions. This concerning trend is particularly pronounced among the 55+ year old generation, with only 32% of respondents in this age group actually using security software when making online purchases.

The most commonly adopted security protocols include being vigilant about potential warning signs, such as suspicious hyperlinks or unusual website design (65%) and verifying seller authenticity (62%).

Kaspersky experts emphasise that while these practices are essential protective measures for online shopping, they constitute only foundational protection strategies rather than the comprehensive fraud prevention provided by a security solution.

Other steps that could protect online shoppers, like using a separate credit card for digital purchases or using a separate email address to register with unfamiliar online shops, were chosen by 33% and 26% of survey participants, respectively.

Meanwhile, 30% claimed to consult with friends and relatives before making a purchase. Interestingly, this option is highly popular among the younger generation, with 37% opting for it, while it is less common among older people (21%).

“Throughout the year, we’ve observed that online shoppers have consistently been one of the most desirable targets for scammers. During sales periods, their scams can become even more pervasive. Staying vigilant is crucial, but protecting yourself requires more than just awareness.

It is particularly concerning how scammers are now using AI to craft more sophisticated, targeted phishing attempts that are increasingly difficult for regular users to recognise,” comments Olga Altukhova, Senior Web Content Analyst at Kaspersky.

Sales seasons are peak times for scammers. To protect yourself against emerging threats, implement the following security practices:

– Don’t save your full credit card details on websites unless absolutely necessary.

– Consider using a separate debit card specifically for online purchases and set up transaction alerts on your bank and credit card accounts.

– Be extra cautious of “flash sales” that seem too good to be true. Watch out for websites that pressure you into making quick decisions, and be wary of sellers who refuse returns or exchanges.

–  Use different passwords for each online account and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.

– Apply a security solution with a strong anti-phishing component. For instance, Kaspersky Premium received the annual ‘Approved’ certification from the leading testing lab AV-Comparatives in 2025 for detecting 93% of phishing URLs, demonstrating outstanding anti-phishing capabilities, powered by AI technology.

– Scammers constantly evolve their methods, so staying informed about new phishing techniques can help you recognise and avoid them. The Kaspersky Security blog will help you keep your finger on the pulse of emerging cyberthreats.

The study was conducted by Kaspersky’s market research center in November 2025. A total of 3000 respondents from 15 countries (Argentina, Chile, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates) took part in the survey.