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Access Bank, a leading African bank with the most extensive customer base has partnered with Credrails, a rapidly growing financial infrastructure startup, to deliver the future of finance on the continent. Access Bank and Credrails will collaborate to develop open finance rails that will dramatically improve the experience of banking customers across the continent.
A seed-stage startup founded in 2020, Credrails delivers the infrastructure that connects Bank, mobile money, and offline data into a single API to power the next generation of fintech solutions. The startup’s API gives developers the ability to build revolutionary products with open and robust access to rich data sources. In addition, its solutions promote interoperability across services, leading to faster and more affordable movement of money around Africa and beyond.
Through the partnership, Credrails enables secure open banking connections to Access Bank, forestalling the need for unauthorized links that could be risky for end-users. The partnership thereby equips developers with the data and support they require to launch innovative finance solutions for customers to enjoy.
Daniel Babatola Awe, who heads Access Bank’s technology hub, Africa Fintech Foundry comments: “Access Bank, over the years, has positioned itself as a leader in the Financial Technology space by leveraging technology to reform business operations and drive performance. To further harness the unending opportunities in the African Fintech ecosystem, Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) – an initiative of Access Bank – was set up in 2017 to solve industry problems, identify and accelerate innovative startups and be recognized globally as the foremost technology hub in Africa.
“We have carefully identified and selected Credrails as our open banking partner, having raised a seed round, as the appropriate company to partner with on our journey to foster the future of finance in Africa.”
“This partnership will develop game-changing, technology-driven, financial solutions that will drive prosperity and encourage inclusivity. We believe that this will provide endless business opportunities to achieve the aforestated goal.”
Credrails completed a $2.5 million seed round in January 2022 from investors including Softbank, Precursor Ventures, Launch Africa and super angels such as Shefali Roy and V&R. The funding is being deployed for new product suites and scaling to new countries.
“Credrails is very pleased to have this partnership with a leading African bank. We are rapidly expanding as a business, and this key partnership is further evidence of our commitment to provide Africa with the infrastructure needed to evolve fintech,” comments Clara Wanjiku Odero, Credrails CEO and Co-founder.
Since it launched in 2020, Credrails now has access to 250 million accounts in 33 countries and is working towards connecting all of Africa, empowering fintech developers with incredible capabilities through a single API.
About Credrails
Established in 2020, Credrails aims to jumpstart the growth of digitally-enabled companies in Africa by providing the financial infrastructure needed to serve customers across the continent. Credrails technology aggregates financial data from multiple online and offline sources and makes the unified data available to businesses via an API. Deep analytics provides businesses with the intelligence to make informed decisions, unlock new revenue streams, and increase market share. With extensive industry experience and knowledge of the African Fintech space, Credrails is uniquely positioned to power the pan-African digital revolution.
About Access Bank plc
Access Bank Plc is a full-service commercial Bank operating through over 600 branches and service outlets located in major centres across Nigeria, Sub Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom. The Bank has over 800,000 shareholders, including several Nigerian and International Institutional Investors and has enjoyed what is arguably Africa’s most successful banking growth trajectory in the last ten years ranking amongst Africa’s top 15 banks by total assets and capital.
As part of its ongoing growth strategy, Access Bank is focused on mainstreaming sustainable business practices into its operations. The Bank strives to deliver sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.
About Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF)
Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) is an Access Bank initiative that aims to nurture and accelerate the growth of Fintech startups in Africa. Thus fast-tracking their growth and maturity to deliver relevant solutions to the market, providing greater access to financial services to the financially excluded across the continent.
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