Mastercard and Nigerian fintech company TeamApt are expanding their digital payments collaboration to reach more small businesses in Nigeria, targeting a market of more than 40 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with wider access to electronic payment acceptance.
Mastercard and TeamApt announced the broader collaboration earlier in August, with the arrangement allowing TeamApt to operate directly on Mastercard’s global network as a non-bank acquirer.
The partnership is designed to expand payment acceptance across physical stores, mobile platforms and online businesses, giving merchants more ways to accept Mastercard payments and process transactions.
For TeamApt, the arrangement connects its payment infrastructure to Mastercard’s global network, while Mastercard gains access to TeamApt’s reach in Nigeria’s large and fragmented small-business market.
The companies are targeting a sector that remains central to Nigeria’s economy. Mastercard estimates that the country has more than 40 million MSMEs, making small businesses an important market for the expansion of digital financial services.
The move also comes as Nigerian businesses increasingly operate across both physical and digital channels. A retailer may accept payments in a shop while also taking orders through social media, websites or mobile platforms.
Mastercard has said digital and online payments are increasingly important to Nigerian small businesses. Its 2026 SME Confidence Index found that Nigerian SMEs see digital payments and other digital tools as important to business growth.
However, wider payment acceptance does not by itself solve the broader challenges facing Nigerian MSMEs, including high operating costs, unreliable infrastructure and limited access to finance.
For businesses that can use the new payment infrastructure effectively, the bigger opportunity is the ability to receive payments across more channels and potentially serve customers beyond their immediate location.
The Mastercard-TeamApt arrangement therefore adds another layer to Nigeria’s growing digital payments ecosystem, with the scale of its impact likely to depend on how quickly more small businesses adopt and actively use electronic payment channels.
