If you’re a business owner with a customer-facing business, you probably already have or are interested in providing a fintech solution to your customers. As the world becomes more digitally-connected, electronic transactions are increasingly normalized. The number of internet users in Nigeria is estimated at 108 million and the number of mobile internet users, in particular, has gone from 40.6 million in 2018 to 81 million in 2022. What this means is that access to digital services including financial services has increased; e-payment transactions in Nigeria reached N55 trillion in the first 2 months of this year alone.
Businesses looking to expand have to use multiple platforms to receive, transfer, and settle payments. Building individual payment infrastructure or integrating with multiple payment providers costs a lot of time and resources that most small businesses cannot afford. The African fintech space is full of payment solutions providers operating independently from one another and these separate systems not only add to the cost of transactions when switching and integrating with payment providers but it also creates data security risks. ChamsSwitch provides a simple solution to this by providing multiple payment services in one integration.
ChamsSwitch is a payment service provider (PSP) that offers e-payment solutions, transaction switching and card services, and various other financial services that businesses can integrate into their systems backed by a secure identity management system. ChamsSwitch partners with a wide network of financial institutions including banks, non-banks, fintech, microfinance institutions, and credit institutions to develop their e-payment infrastructure, simplify their business processes, and provide ease and security for customers.
ChamsSwitch was Founded in 2008 as a subsidiary of Chams Holding Company Plc which was founded by Sir Ademola Benjamin Aladekomo in 1985. Aladekomo is a prolific entrepreneur with an illustrious career filled with ICT and business management solutions and he currently serves as Chairman of the board of Chams plc. Under his leadership Chams has expanded into four subsidiaries which are ChamsAccess, which provides access-related digital solutions; ChamsMobile for mobile banking accounts and other mobile services; CardCentre, the smart card personalization, and management arm of the company; and ChamsSwitch, the switching, and e-payment arm. Chams plc has over 300 companies in its client base and is the first computer company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Chams Plc’s core services are identity management and payment services. In over thirty years since starting, they’ve provided governments and businesses with a number of technology-backed identity solutions like Vota, the electronic voting platform. Vota lets members of organizations of any kind participate in elections on the go, securely. This e-voting technology could revolutionize the future of voting in Nigeria as it reduces cost, while also protecting voter identity, being convenient, and maintaining the integrity of elections. Other projects by Chams Plc include establishing the INEC voter database and the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, the latter of which helps solve problems related to identity management and fraud in the Nigerian banking system.
Chams group of companies provide overall services that improve organizations and the lives of their members and customers and one such Company is ChamsSwitch which was created to be the transaction switching and payment arm of the company. ChamsSwitch initially started by positioning as the transaction processing vendor for the National Identity Card project which was been powered by the Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2009. However, ChamsSwitch being a licensed entity by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) now offers transaction switching services, card processing services, e-commerce payment gateway services, ATM & POS acquiring processing services, etc.
ChamsSwitch aims to be the leading e-payment solutions provider in Africa. The company wants to help businesses solve ICT problems and provide solutions that improve organizational security and efficiency. With these payment integration services, they are helping merchants and businesses provide safe and secure services that improve customers’ lives and also helping them partake in the benefits of the current e-payment boom.
The company has been on a steady rise since its inception and is now among the few PSPs with the highest number of operating licenses within the payment industry. It’s maintained a steady rate of growth in staff, products and solutions, customer acquisition and retention, revenue performance, profit performance, and valuation. Now the company’s management is aiming for a $1bn valuation within the next 3yrs to become a Unicorn. With over N200Bn worth of transactions processed yearly, international partnerships, local partnerships with commercial banks as well as 100 microfinance banks, they are well on their way to this valuation.
ChamsSwitch recently launched an e-commerce payment gateway solution for web & mobile-based merchants. This system helps customers pay conveniently online and helps businesses receive funds easily for online purchases. ChamsSwitch also provides businesses with ease around cross-border payments between Nigeria and Asia.
To find out more about ChamsSwitch’s services visit the website.
