GTCO and Access Holdings, having strategically transformed their fintech subsidiaries into significant drivers of growth, are not merely posting impressive financial figures; they are fundamentally reshaping the way millions of Nigerians conduct financial transactions. According to their latest full-year financial reports, GTCO’s HabariPay and Access’ Hydrogen collectively processed a staggering ₦76.5 trillion ($47.7 billion) in transactions throughout 2024. This represents an astounding 217% increase compared to the ₦24.1 trillion ($15.0 billion) processed in 2023, highlighting the rapid adoption of digital payment solutions in the country.
Several key factors have propelled this remarkable growth. Access Holdings' fintech arm, Hydrogen, which commenced operations in September 2022, has adopted a business model akin to established fintech infrastructure providers like Flutterwave. Rather than directly competing for end-users, Hydrogen strategically focuses on providing backend payments infrastructure that empowers other fintech companies, banks, and telecommunication operators. This approach proved highly successful in 2024, enabling Hydrogen to process an impressive ₦49.1 trillion ($30.6 billion) in payments, marking a remarkable 313% surge from the previous year.
In a statement to TechCabal, Access Holdings attributed this substantial growth to the launch of the Hydrogen Payment Gateway, alongside the introduction of innovative solutions designed to enhance payment card security. These strategic initiatives significantly boosted transaction volumes across Hydrogen's switching, merchant collections, and payments infrastructure services. The holding company emphasized that "These offerings opened new revenue streams and broadened our impact across the payments value chain, enabling more businesses to access secure, seamless payment infrastructure."
In contrast to Hydrogen's infrastructure-focused approach, GTCO's fintech subsidiary, HabariPay, launched in June 2022, has pursued a direct-to-consumer strategy. Through its flagship platform, Squad, HabariPay has successfully onboarded over 30,000 merchants across Nigeria, cultivating a profitable business centered around small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and digitally-native retailers. This direct engagement with the merchant ecosystem enabled HabariPay to process ₦27.4 trillion ($17.1 billion) in transactions in 2024, demonstrating a robust year-on-year growth of 124.6%.
During an investor relations call on April 3, 2025, Segun Agbaje, the Group CEO of GTCO, expressed strong confidence in HabariPay's trajectory. He stated, "When a bank with a strong fintech approach and over 37 million customers enters the market, it has a real shot at dominance." Agbaje further outlined GTCO's aggressive plans to expand Squad's reach in the current year through a significant push into the deployment of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
The contrasting strategies adopted by GTCO and Access Holdings underscore the diverse pathways to success in Nigeria's rapidly evolving digital payments landscape. While Hydrogen focuses on empowering the broader fintech ecosystem through robust infrastructure, HabariPay is directly engaging merchants and leveraging GTCO's extensive customer base.
As mobile money adoption continues its upward trajectory across Nigeria, the battle for supremacy in the digital payments arena between these two banking giants is set to intensify, promising further innovation and transformation in the nation's financial services sector.