Interswitch

Interswitch was founded in 2002 by Mitchell Elegbe at a time when Nigeria's electronic payments infrastructure was still at an early stage. The company began as a transaction switching and electronic payments business, with the objective of improving connectivity between banks and making electronic transactions more practical for a largely cash-dependent economy.

Its portfolio has since expanded considerably. The company's current brand ecosystem includes Interswitch, Quickteller and Verve. Quickteller serves as a digital commerce and payments platform, while Verve operates as a domestic payment card scheme that Interswitch describes as an African card scheme with more than 100 million cards issued and acceptance in more than 185 countries.

The consumer-facing side of the business has continued to develop alongside its infrastructure operations. Interswitch's current onboarding platform reports more than 8,000 billers aggregated on Quickteller, more than 26,600 Quickteller Paypoint agents enabled across Nigeria and more than 190,000 active businesses transacting daily.

With a maiden FBSI Score of 68, Interswitch ranks 8th among the 20 fintech brands in this year's listing. Its long operating history and infrastructure-led business model give it a distinct position within a fintech market increasingly shaped by consumer applications and digital banking platforms.