“Can GTCO's fintech arm become the default payments platform for African businesses across cards, transfers, USSD and POS?”
Squad is the payment-solutions brand of HabariPay Limited, a subsidiary of Nigerian financial group GTCO. It offers merchant-facing acceptance (payment gateway, virtual accounts, USSD, POS, payment links, transfer API, direct debit) for Nigerian and broader African businesses. It is not a standalone startup — it operates under the regulatory umbrella of GTCO/GTBank and is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
SQUAD discloses HabariPay Limited / GTBank (in-house) as its banking provider, with GTBank (Guaranty Trust Bank) (in-house group bank) as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
SQUAD does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through GTBank (Guaranty Trust Bank) (in-house group bank).
SQUAD processes payments through Squad Payment Gateway (self-operated) and InterSwitch.
SQUAD's cards run on Mastercard.
SQUAD integrates with WooCommerce plugin.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 5 layers in SQUAD's stack: Payments / PSP (Squad Payment Gateway (self-operated) and InterSwitch); Banking / BaaS (HabariPay Limited / GTBank (in-house)); Card network (Mastercard); Sponsor bank (GTBank (Guaranty Trust Bank) (in-house group bank)); Accounting (WooCommerce plugin).
SQUAD is founded in 2022 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against SQUAD 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.