Lagos, Nigeria – (11th September) – Zone, Africa’s fastest-growing payment infrastructure company, today announces that three prominent Fintechs across diverse verticals of the payments industry, have joined other leading banks and fintechs on its decentralized payment network. Baxi by Onafriq, a leading payment service provider; FairMoney Microfinance Bank and KongaPay, a licensed mobile money operator known for its seamless and secure payment solutions are now part of Zone’s expanding ecosystem. This development follows Zone’s recent launch of its decentralized PoS Payment Gateway product, ZonePOS, and the strategic partnership with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc to decentralise Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) functions using Blockchain Technology.
This development builds upon the recent onboarding of some of Africa’s largest and most prominent financial institutions—First Bank, UBA, and Zenith Bank—to Zone’s regulated blockchain network. The addition of Baxi, FairMoney and KongaPay demonstrates the applicability and appeal of Zone’s technology across various segments of the financial services industry.
Zone secured a payment switching and processing license from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2022, making its payment infrastructure Africa’s first regulated blockchain network for payments. By integrating with Zone’s regulated blockchain network, Baxi, FairMoney, and KongaPay will significantly enhance their payment processing capabilities, benefiting from:
1. Direct Transaction Routing: Eliminating intermediaries and reducing failure points, resulting in faster, more reliable, and more scalable transaction processing at lower costs.
2. End-to-End Transparency: Providing automatic reconciliation, which eliminates chargebacks and prevents chargeback fraud.
3. Same-Day Settlement: Delivering quicker value for successful transactions to financial institutions and their customers.
Obi Emetarom, CEO and co-founder of Zone, commented on the announcement: “We are excited to welcome Baxi, FairMoney, and KongaPay to our network. Their integration is an important step in our journey to advance the payment landscape in Africa and beyond. It underscores the growing trust in our technology and its ability to deliver on our promise of reliable, frictionless, and universally interoperable payment experiences across various financial service verticals. As we continue to expand and enhance our payment network, we remain committed to connecting every monetary store of value and enabling a truly inclusive financial ecosystem.”
This expansion of Zone’s network, coupled with its recent partnership with NIBSS to enhance Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) operations using blockchain technology, demonstrates the growing acceptance and transformative potential of regulated blockchain in mainstream finance. It sets a new standard for payment processing in Nigeria and potentially across Africa and other emerging markets, promising improved customer experiences and operational efficiency, along with reduced transaction costs, and enhanced financial inclusion.
About Zone:
Zone is a regulated blockchain network that enables payments and acceptance of regulated digital currencies. Its Layer-1 Blockchain network digitises Fiat payments and enables the transition to digital currencies while connecting previously excluded financial institutions into an all-inclusive payment ecosystem. Zone, Africa’s first decentralised payment network, allows participating institutions to connect directly with each other and perform payment transactions without an intermediary while completely automating settlement, reconciliation, and dispute management. The Company is working with the brightest minds on the continent to lay the foundation for the decentralised future of financial services. Its mission is to connect every monetary store of value by harnessing the power of blockchain.
For more information, please visit www.zonenetwork.com.
