“Can a credit-led African microfinance bank become the embedded banking and lending infrastructure for Nigerian platforms?”
Founded as Paylater, a pure digital lending app, Carbon pivoted in 2019 into a full credit-led digital bank for Nigerian and Ghanaian consumers, adding payments, savings, cards and BNPL ('Carbon Zero'). It then acquired a Nigerian microfinance banking license (Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited) and began moving downstream into infrastructure — launching the Carbon Partner API for embedded merchant financing and a Carbon Business BaaS API exposing virtual accounts and payouts to other Nigerian platforms. The strategic shift is from B2C neobank to B2B2C embedded finance provider in West Africa.
Carbon discloses Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Carbon does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house).
Carbon processes payments through Carbon Payments (self-operated) and Carbon virtual collection accounts (self-operated).
Carbon's lending and capital products are provided by Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Carbon's stack: Payments / PSP (Carbon Payments (self-operated) and Carbon virtual collection accounts (self-operated)); Banking / BaaS (Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house)); Lending (Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house), Carbon personal loans (instant), Carbon Business loans (₦100k–₦9.5M, 1–6 month tenor), Carbon Zero (Buy Now Pay Later, 'Pay in four') and 1 other); Sponsor bank (Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited (in-house)).
Carbon was founded by Chijioke Dozie and Ngozi Dozie and is founded in 2012, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Carbon and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.