← Embedded Finance Index 2026

Chams Holdco

“Can a 40-year-old Nigerian identity-and-IT incumbent reinvent itself as pan-African payments and digital-finance infrastructure?”

Founded1985
HQ8 Louis Solomon Close, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Latest round₦7.65B Rights Issue + Private Placement (announced)
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story

Founded 1985 as a Nigerian IT services and hardware company, Chams built its early reputation on national-scale identity projects (BVN, SIM registration, INEC smartcard readers, biometric enrolments). It has progressively pivoted into fintech infrastructure through two core subsidiaries — ChamsSwitch (payments switching, card issuing/acquiring processing) and ChamsMobile (KEGOW mobile money and agency banking) — supported by CardCentre (card personalization) and ChamsAccess (kiosks/POS/access). The 2024 Wema Bank UnionPay partnership and 2025 capital raise show the group positioning itself as an Africa-focused digital payments and identity infrastructure provider rather than a legacy IT integrator.

Last 12 months
2024
2025
2026-02
2026-05
Product timeline
0
Delivered national identity projects incl. BVN, SIM registration, INEC smartcard readers· pivot
0
ChamsSwitch launches MX Payment / MX Card Management as payments switch and issuing platform· card
0
ChamsMobile launches KEGOW mobile money / agency banking; Naira.com & PelPay payment solutions· banking
1985
Chams founded in Nigeria as a computer hardware / IT services company· founding
2008
Listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX)· ipo
2009
ChamsAccess subsidiary established for access & technology solutions· expansion
2024
ChamsSwitch partners with Wema Bank to issue UnionPay cards in Nigeria (Alat UnionPay)· card
2025
Announces ₦7.65B capital raise (Rights Issue + Private Placement)· funding
2026
Unveils Chamscorp Plc to drive digital innovation, infrastructure and local tech manufacturing· expansion
Regulated entities
3
regulatory licences held by Chams Holdco
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
8 layers disclosed in Chams Holdco’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
ChamsSwitch MX Payment (self-operated)PelPay (self-operated)Naira.com (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Card issuing
in the full report
Card network
in the full report
Payroll
in the full report
KYC
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
Investing
in the full report
Accounting gap: significant
11 more providers across 7 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.