First Bank, others join Zone decentralised payment network

First Bank, United Bank for Africa, and Zenith Bank have joined Zone’s decentralised payment network.

This move comes shortly after Zone secured $8.5m in seed funding led by Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to The PUNCH by Zone’s Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Olayiwola Osoba, on Wednesday.

Additionally, Zone recently launched its decentralised Point-of-Sale Payment gateway, ZonePOS, further cementing its position as Africa’s leading payment infrastructure provider.

“Africa’s fastest-growing payment infrastructure company today, announces that three of Africa’s largest and most prominent financial institutions—FIrst Bank, UBA, and Zenith Bank, — have joined other Banks and Fintechs on its decentralized payment network.

“This announcement follows Zone’s recent $8.5 million seed funding round led by Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital, and the launch of its decentralized PoS Payment Gateway, ZonePOS,“ the statement read.

Zone is a regulated blockchain network that enables payments and acceptance of digital currencies.

Olayiwola stated that this incorporation of these leading banks into Zone’s network marks a step towards achieving a cashless society in Nigeria adding that the network’s end-to-end transparency and automatic reconciliation also prevent chargeback fraud and ensure same-day settlements.

The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Zone, Obi Emetarom, expressed his excitement about the integration of the banks.

He noted that having UBA, First Bank, and Zenith Bank on the network underscores the growing trust in Zone’s technology.

Emetarom highlighted that the collaboration would help advance Nigeria’s payment landscape and contribute to a truly inclusive financial ecosystem operating without cash.

“We are thrilled to have UBA, Zenith Bank, and First Bank our network. Their integration into our decentralized payment network is a significant milestone in our journey to advance the payment landscape in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

“Having some of Africa’s largest and most reputable financial institutions, underscores the growing trust in our technology and its ability to deliver on our promise of reliable, frictionless and universally interoperable payment experiences,” he said