Interswitch
Founded
2002 in Lagos, Nigeria — Interswitch began as a transaction switching and electronic payments infrastructure company, pioneering digital payment processing in Nigeria and laying the foundation for the country’s modern digital finance ecosystem.
Founders & Leadership
Mitchell Elegbe — Founder & Group Managing Director & CEO
Location
Lagos, Nigeria — with operations and offices in multiple countries across Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, and others.
Industry
FinTech / Digital Payments & Commerce — focused on payment infrastructure, transaction switching, digital wallets, card schemes, payment processing, and omni‑channel commerce solutions.
Overview
Interswitch Group is a leading technology‑driven payments and digital commerce company that builds and manages secure payment infrastructure for banks, businesses, governments, and consumers across Africa. It enables real‑time payment processing, collections, disbursements, digital tokens, card issuance, and merchant acceptance across multiple channels and devices. Interswitch’s range of products and services include Quickteller (a retail bill payment and e‑commerce platform), Verve (Africa’s largest domestic card scheme with global acceptance), payment gateways, agency banking solutions, and enterprise payment APIs that support a broad network of financial and non‑financial institutions. Over its history, Interswitch has been a backbone technology provider in Nigeria’s financial system and expanded geographically into over a dozen African markets.
Core Features & Capabilities
Real‑Time Payments Infrastructure: Supports transaction switching, settlement, and clearing for banks and payment service providers.
Digital Consumer Services: Quickteller allows users to pay bills, top up airtime, transfer funds, and shop online.
Card Scheme & Tokens: Verve provides EMV‑certified cards and digital payment tokens accepted across Africa and internationally via partner networks.
Payment Gateway & Merchant Services: Interswitch enables businesses to accept online and in‑store payments with secure checkout flows.
Enterprise Payment Solutions: Collections, disbursements, mobile financial services, and advisory support for corporate clients and government paymasters.
APIs & Developer Tools: Robust platform tools that allow partners and developers to embed financial functionality.
Target Market
Banks & Financial Institutions needing secure, high‑performance payment processing infrastructure.
SMEs & Large Enterprises requiring payment acceptance, merchant services, and digital commerce capabilities.
Consumers & Retail Customers using Quickteller and Verve for everyday payments, transfers, and e‑commerce transactions.
Governments & Public Sector Entities looking to digitize disbursements, collections, and citizen engagement platforms.
Developers & Digital Platforms seeking APIs to embed fintech services into apps and digital ecosystems.
Value Proposition
Interswitch’s core value lies in enabling seamless digital payment and commerce experiences across the African continent by building scalable, secure, and interoperable financial infrastructure. Its technology helps reduce friction in financial transactions, expand access to digital payments for consumers and businesses, and support financial inclusion by linking previously siloed systems. The company’s products — from Quickteller’s consumer‑facing services to Verve’s card scheme and enterprise APIs — provide trusted, real‑time capabilities that support everyday payments, ecommerce, billing, and large‑scale institutional disbursements. Interswitch also drives innovation in agent banking and mobile financial services, empowering underbanked populations to participate in the digital economy. Its pan‑African footprint and strategic partnerships strengthen cross‑border payment fluidity and bolster economic activity within and beyond national financial systems.