HabariPay, the fintech arm of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), has recorded the highest profit value among Nigerian bank-owned payment companies in the first half of 2025, overtaking Access Holdings’ fintech subsidiary, Hydrogen.

According to the banking group’s latest financial statements published on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), GTCO’s HabariPay posted a profit growth of 84 percent, rising to N4.02 billion from N2.18 billion. Hydrogen’s after-tax profit surged by 305 per cent to N966 million in H1 2025, up from N238 million in the same period of 2024.

Stanbic IBTC’s Zest Payments, however, widened its loss to N954 million in H1, compared to N318 million a year earlier.

Read also: HabariPay’s profit hit N3.8bn on increased platform usage

GTCO launched Habari in 2018 as a super-app before pivoting in 2022 to HabariPay, a dedicated fintech subsidiary providing digital payments. Its flagship platform, Squad, combines a payment gateway, e-commerce tools, and a PoS business.

The fintech processes payments through virtual accounts, USSD, cards, and bank transfers for merchants, along with switching services for account-to-account bank transfers and card transactions.

It currently earns revenue from net commissions on merchant transactions and sales margins on bill payments, such as airtime vending and bulk SMS.

Operating income has surged more than 10 times to N5.05 billion since H1 2022 (from N447.86 million), while operating expenses have risen 13 times to N1.03 billion from N70.64 million in the same period. As of June 2025, it had a cash balance of N2.18 billion.

Read also: GTCO’s HabariPay fuels innovation with hackathon challenge

BusinessDay reported in March that the company had acquired key regulatory licenses from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to facilitate its mission.

These licenses enable the company to process transactions and offer value-added services, ensuring seamless integration across multiple payment channels, including USSD and internet-based transactions.

Eduofon Japhet, managing director of HabariPay Ltd, told BusinessDay of the company’s commitment to building local financial infrastructure to support digital payments.

“We entered a market that seemed saturated, and we needed to find a place for ourselves,” she said. “Our focus has been on developing infrastructure that supports local transactions, making digital payments more accessible and affordable for businesses and consumers alike.”