Paystack has launched a new holding company, The Stack Group (TSG), as it continues its expansion beyond payments into banking, consumer finance, and AI-led product development.
According to Paystack’s statement to Techpoint Africa, the launch of TSG marks a significant step for the company, as it has achieved profitability.
The holding company will sit above a group of independent but complementary businesses, including Paystack, Paystack Microfinance Bank, Zap, and TSG Labs. This newly created venture studio will develop products both within and outside financial services.
Agreements establishing the group were signed in October 2025 and are pending regulatory approvals.
The launch comes as Paystack marks its 10th anniversary and signals a shift from being primarily a payments processor to building broader technology and financial infrastructure for African businesses.
Since its acquisition by Stripe in 2020, Paystack says its payment volume has grown more than twelvefold.
The company is licensed and operational in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, with regulatory approvals underway in Egypt and Rwanda, markets that together account for roughly 46% of Africa’s GDP.
The formation of TSG follows Paystack’s recent acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank (MFB) to create Paystack MFB in Nigeria.
Operating as a standalone regulated bank, Paystack MFB allows the group to internalise core financial rails and build banking and credit infrastructure for its more than 300,000 Nigerian merchants. This move reduces reliance on partner banks and enables faster development of end-to-end money movement products.
Alongside its merchant and banking businesses, TSG also includes Zap, a consumer payments product.
In addition to the new holding company is TSG Labs, which Paystack says will focus on building new products using emerging technologies, including AI.
The venture studio will operate independently from the group’s regulated entities, allowing Paystack to experiment with AI-led products without exposing its core financial businesses to regulatory risk.
TSG’s founding shareholders include Stripe, Paystack founder and CEO Shola Akinlade, and existing Paystack employees. Stripe remains a shareholder following its $200 million acquisition of Paystack in 2020, underscoring its continued long-term commitment to the company.
Commenting on the announcement, Akinlade said the creation of TSG reflects Paystack’s expanding ambitions beyond payments.
“There are significant opportunities to support businesses beyond payments, and TSG enables us to address the challenges African companies face over the next decade,” he said.
With TSG, Paystack is positioning itself not just as a payments company, but as a technology group betting on banking, consumer finance, and AI as its next growth engines.
