Nombank, the banking arm of Nigerian fintech company Nomba, is ramping up efforts to deepen its presence in Nigeria's small business banking sector by leveraging merchant transaction data to provide faster access to credit and tailored financial services for underserved businesses.
The move comes at a time when financial institutions are increasingly competing for a share of Nigeria's vast micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) market. Despite contributing significantly to the country's economy, many SMEs continue to face challenges accessing formal financing due to strict lending requirements such as collateral, audited financial statements and extensive documentation.
Speaking on the company's vision, Nombank's Managing Director, Seun Osunkeye, said the lender is taking a different approach by using transaction data generated through Nomba's payments platform to better understand merchants' financial health and make lending decisions based on real business performance.
"My interest in this space goes back to my undergraduate thesis, where I examined how microfinance banks support SMEs and how access to capital determines whether a small business survives or grows," Osunkeye said.
He added:
"Working closely with merchants at Nomba reinforced what I had seen years earlier. Many SMEs are viable businesses but remain locked out of the formal financial system because financial products were never designed around how they actually operate."
From Payments Infrastructure to Full-Service Banking
Nombank was established after Nomba acquired a microfinance banking licence, allowing the fintech company to offer regulated banking services, mobilise customer deposits and extend loans directly instead of depending solely on partner banks.
According to Osunkeye, the institution has evolved beyond simply supporting Nomba's payment ecosystem.
"We no longer see Nombank purely as infrastructure sitting underneath Nomba," he said. "We see it as a distinct banking business with its own customer segment and value proposition."
Transaction Data Powers Faster Credit Decisions
At the core of Nombank's expansion strategy is the vast amount of transaction data generated across Nomba's merchant network.
Osunkeye disclosed that daily transaction volumes processed through the platform surged dramatically—from approximately ₦7 billion in May 2025 to about ₦250 billion in May 2026. The growing transaction base, he said, provides valuable insights into merchants' cash flow, sales patterns, seasonality and overall business performance.
Unlike traditional financial institutions that rely heavily on historical financial statements and physical collateral, Nombank uses these real-time transaction records to evaluate creditworthiness and deliver financing more efficiently.
"Our advantage is data," Osunkeye said. "A banking licence is something others can obtain. The institutional trust and years of transaction data built from serving merchants are much harder to replicate."
He explained that this enables the bank to make lending decisions much faster than conventional lenders.
"Traditional lenders typically ask for audited financial statements, physical collateral and extensive documentation," he noted. "Because we already understand how many of these businesses operate through their transaction data, we can assess credit in near real time and structure facilities around their actual working capital cycles."
Expanding Into Embedded Finance
Beyond providing loans, Nombank is also positioning itself as an embedded finance provider, enabling businesses to integrate banking services directly into their own digital platforms.
According to Osunkeye, companies across industries—including logistics, retail distribution, remittances and energy—are increasingly seeking to offer financial services such as collections, savings accounts and credit without requiring customers to leave their existing platforms.
"The future of banking is not necessarily another super app," he said. "It is banking embedded within the platforms businesses and customers already use every day."
He pointed to an oil and gas technology company that has integrated Nombank's virtual account solution into its platform. The arrangement allows fuel stations to process settlements seamlessly while giving Nombank visibility into transaction flows that can support working capital financing when businesses experience temporary cash shortages.
Banking Competition Shifts Toward Data Intelligence
As competition intensifies among Nigerian banks and fintech firms for the SME market, Osunkeye believes success will increasingly depend on how well lenders understand the financial behaviour of businesses rather than relying exclusively on traditional credit assessment methods.
"The question has always been how capital reaches the businesses that need it," he said. "We believe data allows us to answer that question differently."
With its data-driven lending model and expanding embedded finance offerings, Nombank is positioning itself to address one of Nigeria's biggest financial inclusion challenges—providing accessible and timely banking services to millions of small businesses that have historically remained outside the reach of conventional lenders.