GTCO’s fintech, HabariPay, posts N1.7 billion profit in half-year 2024

HabariPay, the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Co Plc, recorded N1.7 billion profit after tax in half-year 2024.

The company revealed this in its half-year 2024 financial presentation to investors.

The fintech’s profit represents 30.7% growth when compared with N1.3 billion it recorded in the same period in 2023.

The profits reflected the surge in revenue recorded by the fintech company in the period under review. According to the report, HabariPay’s gross revenue increased by 21% to N2.8 billion in half-year 2024 from N2.3 billion reported in the same period in 2023.

Total payment value 

The report further revealed that the total Payment value (TPV) of Naira transactions processed by HabariPay grew significantly by over 170% to N9.8trillion in H1-2024 from N3.6trillion in FY-2023.

This marked increase was further complemented by growth in the TPV value of Dollar transactions processed, which stood at $1.2 million against $1.1 million recorded during the same period last year.

“HabariPay also grew its fee income from revenues earned from value-added services (VAS) and switching i.e., processing of transactions for counterparties for a fee,” GTCO added in the report.

• Habari Pay through its “Squad” platforms allows the bank’s customers to shop for diverse products online, pay bills, watch videos, and listen to music, among others.
• The fintech company also operates with a Switching and processing license from the Central Bank of Nigeria and a VAS license from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
• GTB owns 100% of Habari Pay and according to its financials, it had invested about N3.10 billion in the company as of June 2024.

What you should know 

GTCO launched Habari in 2018 as a super-app that provides everything from streaming content to an e-commerce marketplace. The bank, with its ecosystem of small business customers, wanted to create a marketplace hub to support vendors across different industries.

• Though it was created by one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, it didn’t focus on providing banking services, and it struggled to gain traction among digital users.
• But in 2020, the lender announced its broader push into digital payments with a corporate restructuring that would make Habari a separate company wholly owned by the bank.
• In June 2021, Guaranty Trust Bank transitioned into a holding company from its standalone commercial banking structure.
• HabariPay operates in the highly competitive fintech landscape where banks are now venturing into to shore up their revenue. Currently, most tier 1 banks in Nigeria now have a fintech subsidiary within their HoldCo operating entities.