“Can a Sharia-compliant, non-interest digital bank become the ethical alternative for Nigerian retail and SME banking?”
Started 2014 as Sterling Alternative Finance — the Islamic/Non-Interest Banking window inside Sterling Bank Nigeria. In July 2023 the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a full standalone banking license, spinning it out as Alt Bank Limited (dba The Alternative Bank), Nigeria's Sharia-compliant non-interest digital bank. Product strategy centers on ethical/NIB-compliant retail and business banking, agri-SME financing, and a Mastercard/Verve/Afrigo card program.
The Alternative Bank discloses The Alternative Bank (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
The Alternative Bank does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through The Alternative Bank (in-house).
The Alternative Bank processes payments through The Alternative Bank (in-house).
The Alternative Bank's cards are issued through The Alternative Bank (in-house) on the Mastercard, Verve and Afrigo networks.
The Alternative Bank's lending and capital products are provided by The Alternative Bank (in-house).
The Alternative Bank uses The Alternative Bank (in-house) for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Alternative Bank's embedded insurance is provided by Noor Takaful.
The Alternative Bank's investing and wealth products are powered by The Alternative Bank (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 8 layers in The Alternative Bank's stack: Payments / PSP (The Alternative Bank (in-house)); Banking / BaaS (The Alternative Bank (in-house)); Card issuing (The Alternative Bank (in-house)); Card network (Mastercard, Verve and Afrigo); Lending (The Alternative Bank (in-house), Interest-free credit line, Salary advance / turnover advance (non-salary earners), Structured Trade & Commodities Finance (STCF) and 2 others); Insurance (Noor Takaful); FX & payouts (The Alternative Bank (in-house)); Investing (The Alternative Bank (in-house)).
The Alternative Bank is founded in 2014 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Alternative Bank has raised $15M in total.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against The Alternative Bank 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.