Millions of self-employed and informal-sector workers in Nigeria are set to gain easier access to retirement savings following a strategic partnership between TeamApt Limited and digital pension agent platform Awabah to power Pension Direct, an innovative micro-pension solution.
Unveiled in Lagos, Pension Direct leverages TeamApt’s Direct Debit infrastructure to simplify pension enrolment and automate recurring contributions for workers outside the formal employment system.
The solution enables users to register for a personal pension at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal within minutes, tokenise their payment card, and schedule automatic contributions without the need for repeated manual payments.
The initiative is designed to bridge the long-standing pension coverage gap among Nigeria’s informal workforce by integrating retirement savings into the everyday financial touchpoints they already use.
For more than a decade, TeamApt has provided core banking and payment infrastructure for financial institutions across Nigeria, including Moniepoint MFB.
Through this collaboration, the company’s Direct Debit technology securely powers recurring pension payments across both web platforms and POS devices, ensuring seamless and reliable contribution collection.
By transforming neighbourhood agent locations into pension enrolment and payment centres, Pension Direct removes many of the barriers that have traditionally prevented self-employed and informal-sector workers from participating in structured retirement savings schemes.
The partnership represents another step towards deepening financial inclusion by making long-term financial security more accessible to millions of Nigerians who operate outside the formal payroll system.
Moniepoint MFB was announced as the first distribution network to offer Pension Direct through its POS terminals, leveraging one of Nigeria’s largest agent networks, which spans all 774 local government areas.
Over time, TeamApt and Awabah plan to expand the solution to additional distribution networks, broadening access to micro-pensions for millions of underserved workers across the country.
“Financial inclusion isn’t only about giving people access to payments; it’s about giving them access to the financial tools that help them build long-term security,” said Dennis Ajalie, Managing Director/CEO, TeamApt.
“For millions of Nigerians in the informal economy, contributing consistently to a pension has often been difficult because the underlying infrastructure wasn’t built for the way they earn and spend, unlike formal sector workers whose pension savings are made almost automatic through payroll deductions.”
He stated further, “We created our Direct Debit service to address exactly this, because we know long-term contributions need card tokenisation and recurring mandates that hold up over years. By combining this infrastructure with Awabah’s pension expertise, we are making long-term savings just as seamless for artisans, traders and other self-employed Nigerians.”
Building on more than a decade of powering payment and banking infrastructure for financial institutions across Nigeria, TeamApt intends to expand the availability of its Direct Debit service to more partners and sectors.
Beyond pensions, the infrastructure is designed to support recurring payments for a wide range of use cases, including insurance, investments, and other long-term financial services, helping more businesses deliver seamless payment experiences while expanding access to essential financial products.
