Nomba wants Nigerian merchants to collect pounds directly from UK banks

Nomba, a Nigerian fintech that provides banking and payment services, has partnered with Volume, a United Kingdom payment solution powered by Open Banking, to enable Nigerian businesses to collect British Pound (GBP) directly from UK bank accounts.

Open Banking in the UK is an initiative that allows banks, financial institutions, fintechs, and technical service providers to collaborate and allow bank accounts to work together.

The integration with Volume enables merchants to receive bank-to-bank payments from customers that use any of the UK’s major banks, reducing the reliance on international card processors that have dominated cross-border payments. Instead of using card details, customers authorise payments directly from their banking apps.

“We built Nomba to give African businesses world-class financial infrastructure,” said Yinka Adewale, Nomba CEO. “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 move taps into a growing commercial relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, which holds the largest single documented population of Nigerian-born individuals. 

In December 2025, the total trade volume between the UK and Nigeria was £95.7 million ($128 million), and cross-border transactions between both countries include e-commerce purchases, remittances, subscriptions, and professional services. Much of this activity still runs through global card networks or is processed through platforms like Stripe, Flutterwave, or Paystack.

For Nigerian merchants selling to UK customers, these transactions could come with fees, like card processing charges or other cross-border charges. Nomba’s new corridor attempts to address some of those inefficiencies by connecting African merchants directly into the UK banking infrastructure. 

However, the company says the new channel is not designed to replace existing payment methods but to expand how merchants can collect international payments.

“Nigerian merchants have historically been limited to card payments for international customers,” Adewale told TechCabal in a statement. “This integration opens up a new payment collection channel they haven’t had access to before… Their UK customers can pay the way they already pay for everything else. That’s the differentiation. We’re giving African businesses access to infrastructure that was previously out of reach.”

For this payment system to work, a UK customer would choose the option at the checkout page, and the payment is authorised through their bank using the UK’s Faster Payments infrastructure. The funds are processed locally by Volume before Nomba settles the merchant instantly into a GBP wallet. The company noted that this wallet is managed by an undisclosed electronic money institution licenced in the UK.

Nomba said a merchant’s wallet balance is not restricted to a single currency. Merchants can hold funds in pounds, convert to Naira (NGN) or Dollars (USD), or move the balance into other currencies depending on their business needs. The company added that exchange rates are set in line with market trends to remain competitive for merchants.

One of the early merchants using the system is BeautyByDaz Nigeria, a Lagos-based beauty brand that sells to customers both locally and in the United Kingdom. The beauty company says it processed more than £5,500 ($7,360) from 115 UK customers within its first 60 days on the platform. 

“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,” said Zaynab Odusote, Founder, BeautyByDaz Nigeria. “Now everything is in one place. I can manage my entire business — Lagos and London — from one dashboard.”

This payment system in the UK corridor is part of Nomba’s expansion strategy for building international payment routes for African businesses. In November 2025, the fintech expanded into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to serve the unbanked, and in January 2026, acquired a Canadian payment service provider to facilitate trade between Canada and Nigeria. The company said its partnership with Volume already positions it to scale into European markets.

“The broader vision is making international transactions feel local on both ends, 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,” Adewale concluded.