HabariPay’s cost efficiency powers GTBank’s ₦6.54bn fintech profit

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc’s HabariPay is mirroring its parent’s obsession with cost control, operating at just 30.69% of its income, compared to Hydrogen’s (Access Holdings) 78.66% and Zest’s (Stanbic IBTC) 78.23% in the first nine months of 2025.

Science/Technology Nov 25, 2025 0 4 Add to Reading List

HabariPay’s cost efficiency powers GTBank’s ₦6.54bn fintech profit

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc’s HabariPay is mirroring its parent’s obsession with cost control, operating at just 30.69% of its income, compared to Hydrogen’s (Access Holdings) 78.66% and Zest’s (Stanbic IBTC) 78.23% in the first nine months of 2025.

This is as bank-backed fintechs made a combined ₦7.91 billion ($5.43 million) profit in the period, their strongest collective showing since banks entered the fintech race, according to their financial results.

It is a sign of maturity from fintechs whose parent companies have been accused of being too slow, too rigid, and too distracted to compete with the speed and reliability of the likes of OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint.

The gains were driven by cost efficiency, rising transaction volumes and values, and deeper uptakes among merchants, corporates, and everyday users increasingly leaning on bank-backed digital channels. It is also the first time all three fintech subsidiaries are profitable in the same period, with Zest flipping from losses to its first-ever profit in Q3.

For years, fintechs like OPay and PalmPay set the pace with speed, cheap transfers, and reliability as traditional banks struggled. Now, backed by deep customer bases, settlement networks, and improving infrastructure, bank-owned fintechs are beginning to close the gap.

The Efficiency Gap

How much profit did bank-fintechs make, and how much did it cost them to make it?

Showing net profit in Billions (₦) for 9 Months.

HabariPay GTCO

₦6.54bn

Hydrogen Access Holdings

₦0.83bn

Zest Stanbic IBTC

₦0.54bn

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