Kuda Microfinance Bank is preparing to expand its physical presence across Nigeria after receiving a national microfinance banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a shift that reflects both regulatory expectations and the bank’s growing scale.
The upgrade removes the geographic limits attached to Kuda’s former unit microfinance licence and requires the digital bank to establish experience centres nationwide. These centres are expected to offer in person customer support and serve as community engagement points, while digital services remain central to the business.
Managing director and chief executive Musty Mustapha said the licence marks an important step in Kuda’s evolution as a regulated institution, giving it flexibility to meet customers both online and offline.
The decision also highlights a broader regulatory push to align licensing structures with how large fintechs now operate. In January, the central bank also upgraded the licences of Moniepoint and Opay, citing the need for customers, particularly in the informal sector, to access physical offices for dispute resolution.
The move, however, brings higher costs. National microfinance banks face stricter compliance rules, mandatory public disclosure of accounts, and significantly higher capital requirements. Kuda’s minimum paid up capital rises to five billion naira from two hundred million naira, following a twenty million dollar funding round in 2024 that valued the company at five hundred million dollars.
Operationally, Kuda continues to scale. In the first quarter of 2025, it processed more than three hundred million transactions worth fourteen point three trillion naira and issued sixteen point four billion naira.