Nigeria: Nomba Partners Volume to Enable Nigerian Merchants Receive Payments in Pounds

Nomba, a Nigerian fintech providing banking and payment solutions, has partnered with UK-based payment platform Volume to allow Nigerian businesses receive payments in British Pounds (GBP) directly from bank accounts in the United Kingdom.

The collaboration leverages the United Kingdom’s Open Banking framework, which enables banks, fintechs, and other financial service providers to securely connect and share financial data to facilitate seamless payment transactions.

Through the integration, Nigerian merchants can now accept bank-to-bank payments from customers using major UK banks. Instead of relying on international card networks, customers authorise payments directly from their banking applications, reducing the need for intermediaries.

According to Nomba’s Chief Executive Officer, Yinka Adewale, the initiative aims to address high cross-border transaction costs faced by African businesses.

“We built Nomba to give African businesses world-class financial infrastructure,” Adewale said. “Partnering with Volume to enable direct GBP bank collections means our merchants no longer lose 6–7% of their revenue just because their customers are in a different country.”

The partnership comes amid growing trade ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, which hosts one of the largest documented populations of Nigerian-born residents globally.

In December 2025, trade between both countries reached approximately £95.7 million ($128 million), with cross-border transactions covering sectors such as e-commerce, remittances, subscriptions, and professional services. Much of these payments currently rely on card networks or global payment platforms such as Stripe, Flutterwave, and Paystack.

For many Nigerian merchants selling to UK customers, these payment methods often attract multiple fees, including card processing and international transaction charges. The new payment corridor introduced by Nomba aims to reduce these inefficiencies by linking African merchants directly with UK banking infrastructure.

The company clarified that the new service is designed to complement, rather than replace, existing payment options.

“Nigerian merchants have historically been limited to card payments for international customers,” Adewale said. “This integration opens up a new payment collection channel they haven’t had access to before. Their UK customers can now pay the way they already pay for everyday services.”

Under the system, UK customers selecting the option at checkout will authorise payments through their bank using the country’s Faster Payments infrastructure. Funds are processed locally by Volume before being settled instantly into a GBP wallet for the merchant.

Nomba noted that the wallet is managed by a licensed electronic money institution in the UK and allows merchants to hold funds in multiple currencies. Businesses can maintain balances in pounds, convert to Nigerian naira (NGN) or US dollars (USD), or transfer funds into other currencies based on their operational needs.

One early adopter of the platform is BeautyByDaz Nigeria, a Lagos-based beauty brand selling to customers in both Nigeria and the UK. Within its first 60 days on the platform, the business processed over £5,500 (about $7,360) from 115 UK customers.

Founder Zaynab Odusote said the solution has simplified how the company manages international and local payments.

“Before Nomba, I was juggling Stripe for my UK customers, a separate POS provider for my Lagos store, and a different bank account for transfers,” she said. “Now everything is in one place. I can manage my entire business — Lagos and London — from one dashboard.”

The UK payment corridor forms part of Nomba’s broader expansion strategy to build international payment routes for African businesses. In November 2025, the fintech expanded into the Democratic Republic of the Congo to serve unbanked communities, and in January 2026 it acquired a Canadian payment service provider to support trade between Canada and Nigeria.

According to Adewale, the partnership with Volume also positions the company to expand further into European markets.

“The broader vision is making international transactions feel local on both ends,” he said. “Whether through Open Banking rails, stablecoins, or other infrastructure, the goal is simple: if you’re an African business selling globally, getting paid should feel no different from a local transaction.”