GTCO’s HabariPay posts N2.3 billion profit before tax in 2023

HabariPay, the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Co Plc, recorded N2.3 billion profit before tax in 2023.

This was revealed by the company in its full-year 2023 financial presentation to investors. The fintech’s profit represents 147.9% growth when compared with N944.7 million it recorded in 2022.

The profits reflect the surge in revenue recorded by the fintech company in the period under review. According to the 2023 financial report, HabariPay’s gross revenue increased by 218% to N4.905 billion in 2023 from N1.542 billion in 2022 underpinned by significant growth on all key income lines.

“Income from Value Added Services grew 149% driven by airtime vending revenue from direct integration with two (2) major Telcos as well as partnerships with VAS aggregators. 

Interest expense resulted from monthly overdraft charges on airtime purchases. We efficiently monitored airtime sales monthly and closed each end of the month with a credit balance on our overdraft account,” the company reported.

Transaction growth

Amid the increasing competition in the fintech business space, GTCo’s HabariPay saw astronomic growth in transactions in the year under review. The value of transactions on the platform surged by 8,620% to N12.1 billion from N139.3 million recorded in the previous year.

In addition, HabariPay’s international payment transactions value also jumped from $175,927 in 2022 to $2.3 billion in 2023. According to GTCO, HabariPay is fast proving to be a dynamic force in the financial technology landscape, embodying innovation, and empowerment in the digital economy.

HabariPay’s core business operations include a payment gateway – payments processed via virtual accounts, USSD, card, and bank transfer channels. It also engages in switching verticals, value-added verticals – bill payments for airtime vending, and distribution of bulk SMS processed through Value Added Service Aggregators licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

More insights

GTCO launched Habari in 2018 as a super-app that provides everything from streaming content to an e-commerce marketplace. The bank, with its ecosystem of small business customers, wanted to create a marketplace hub to support vendors across different industries.

Though it was created by one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, it didn’t focus on providing banking services, and it struggled to gain traction among digital users.

But in 2020, the lender announced its broader push into digital payments with a corporate restructuring that would make Habari a separate company wholly owned by the bank. In June 2021, Guaranty Trust Bank transitioned into a holding company from its standalone commercial banking structure.

It made Habari Pay a standalone business offering payments, a marketplace, and small business services.

HabariPay’s flagship product, Squad, combines a payment gateway and e-commerce platform with a Point-of-Sale business. HabariPay’s Squad is now competing with the likes of Interswitch, Paystack, and Flutterwave in the payment gateway business.