Pryme
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Pryme Personal

Money with a heartbeat.

Meet Eva, the assistant inside the Pryme app. She opens accounts, moves money, saves toward your goals and follows up. Nothing leaves your account without your approval.

Meet Eva, the assistant inside the Pryme app. She holds dollars, pounds, euros and Naira side by side, swaps at a locked rate, pays bills in any of them and sends anywhere, asking before anything moves.

HomeEvery currency, every Box and every card on one screen.
Chat with EvaTell her the goal. She handles the steps and asks before anything moves.
Savings BoxesFlexible, Fixed, Investment and Interest-free, side by side.
Create a BoxPick the type, name the goal. Eva works out what to move, and when.
LoansSpaces credit and Salary Advance. Draw only what you need.
Invite friendsThree friends, ₦50,000 each, and ₦20,000 lands with you.
YouEva’s voice, your plan, your address and every security control.
Duress signalA word that looks normal on screen while your people are alerted.
Chat with EvaTell her the goal. She handles the steps and asks before anything moves.
Swap at the live rateOr name the rate you want and she swaps the moment it lands.
One card, every currencySpend from whichever balance suits, and freeze it from the app.
What Eva may do without askingStanding permissions, a voice, and a record of every rule you have given her.
Receipts anyone can verifyRegular or certified statements, e-signed and checkable by whoever receives them.
Open a personal account How we keep your money safe
Pryme app: Home
Pryme app: Chat with Eva
Pryme app: Savings Boxes
Pryme app: Create a Box
Pryme app: Loans
Pryme app: Invite friends
Pryme app: You
Pryme app: Duress signal
Pryme app: Chat with Eva
Pryme app: Swap at the live rate
Pryme app: Multicurrency card
Pryme app: What Eva may do without asking
Pryme app: Receipts and statements
MoneyAgentsApprovalAgentsEvery currencyYour approval

Open an account. Get money to spend.

Global money. Intelligent growth.

We give you a limit to spend at the shops and services you already use — and an account that works on your month while you get on with it. Dollars, pounds and euros sit beside your Naira, and an assistant handles the running of it, asking you first every single time.

One global account for your money and business. Move across currencies, automate everyday operations and put AI agents to work — with you in control of every important decision.

Open Personal or Business Account Already with us? Log in
Open a Business account Download the app for Personal Open an account from anywhere
Pryme app home: every currency on one balance
Personal · the app in your hand
Salary landed₦920,000 from John Doe Ltd · Naira account
Done
Move ₦100,000 to your Rent Box?Keeps ₦127.9m liquid · earns 18% p.a.
Approve
Paid Ikeja Electric₦18,400 · token sent by SMS
Done
Swap $200 → ₦310,000?Rate locked at ₦1,550 for 30 s
Approve
Held a ₦150,000 transferNew payee · unusual hour · needs you
Review
Received $2,400From a client · USD account
Done
Swap $200 → £—?Rate locked for 30 s
Approve
Paid the light bill at home₦18,400 · Ikeja Electric
Done
Keep $1,000 liquid, save the rest?$1,400 → Flexible Box
Approve
Held a £2,000 transferNew payee · needs you
Review
Eva is live
500,000+customers, personal and businessScan to get the app
Get the appScan with your phone camera
Regulated partnersEvery currency held with a licensed institution in its market
Solid AllianzeCBNNDIC
Scan to get the app
Get the appScan with your phone camera
Instant settlementOur own core ledger: swaps land at once, every receipt verifiableScan to get the app
Get the appScan with your phone camera
Agents with a mandatePowered by Pryme Intelligence. Nothing moves without youFlip
Pryme Intelligence
Eva, the assistant that runs a Pryme accountEvayour assistant
The Chief of Staff agent on a Pryme Business AccountDanielChief of Staff
The Finance agent on a Pryme Business AccountBenFinance
PrymeBruceCare
Inside a mandate you write. Every action logged.
Multi-currency30 currencies on one balanceFlip
Locked rates30 s
🇺🇸 1 USD—
🇬🇧 1 GBP—
🇪🇺 1 EUR—
The rate you see is the rate you get.
10 years2016 to today, one trunkScan to get the app
Get the appScan with your phone camera
Business Account

Open an account. Get customers.

Your competitor down the road sells the same thing you sell. The difference is who walks in. We put money in people’s hands that can only be spent in businesses like yours — and then we point them at you.

The Pryme Business home page: three currency balances on one account, the money actions, five agents working and a live stream of what they have done
Business · the page your team signs into
Spaces · Nigeria

We hand the customer the money. It can only be spent with you.

You are not borrowing. You are selling to somebody who already has the money — and that money can only be spent with a business like yours.

The business · Pryme Business
johndoe.mypryme.com · Spaces

Spaces Showing 30 days

Spaces is onshoppers near you can see your shop
Spaces brought you · 30 days ₦2,578,550.00 104 sales from 71 shoppers ▼ 4% on the period before
Where the money came from
91% shoppers who had been in before 9% first visit to your shop
21 of 71 came back more than once Average basket ₦24,793.75 Biggest shopper ₦142,300.00
24 Jul returningnew to you 22 Aug
Money on its way to you confirmed at the counter · on its way to your Naira account
Confirmed at the counter ₦47,150.002 sales today · final the moment they paid
Sales of 23 Aug₦90,9503 sales · confirmed
Sales of 24 Aug₦196,2005 sales · confirmed
Sales of 25 Aug₦47,1502 sales · confirmed
nothing for you to do · it arrives on its own
Lands in your NGN account ₦334,300.0010 sales in flight
The shopper · Pryme app
4:34
‹
BorrowLoans
SpacesSalary Advance
Spaces credit₦21,450 available
Repay ₦78,550
₦78,550 in use₦100,000 limit
Hold 25% · repay 2 more early to drop to 20%

₦100,000 from day one · agreement v2.1 · 12 Aug · View

Near youCategories 9Your loans 9
🛒Grocery / Retail4 places
🍽Eateries / Restaurants4 places
💊Pharmacies3 places
🎬Movies & Cinema3 places
🚌Transport3 places
💇Spa’s & Saloons3 places
Say “Hey Pryme”🎤
HomeBoxes CardsYou
Freeto join, nothing monthly. You are in the app the day you switch it on.
You get paidthe sale settles into your Naira account. Nobody to chase.
Zero riskwe carry the credit, whether or not the shopper repays us.
You growfaces that had never been to your shop — and most come back on their own.
The account

One account. Every currency you trade in.

Pryme Business4 currencies · one ledger
Base
₦127,328,879.23NGN · Nigerian Naira
$1,240.00USD · US Dollar
£480.00GBP · Pound Sterling
€310.00EUR · Euro
  • A named Naira account with Solid Allianze MFB — NDIC insured, your business name on it.
  • Real details abroad. A US account number, a UK sort code, an IBAN for the euro area.
  • Every currency has its own statement — regular or certified, with a code anyone can verify.
Swapping · in the app
4:34
‹···
Current account · NGN ₦127,328,879.23
SwapBoth balances move at once, on one ledger
Fill it inAsk Eva
$1 = ₦1,650.00
FromNGN ▾
250,000Available ₦127,328,879.23
ToUSD ▾
151.52after swap $1,391.52
Rate$1 = ₦1,650.00
Fee—
You get$151.52
NowWhen it hits

Eva waits for your rate and asks before she moves anything.

Target rate
$1 =1,585.00₦
Set the watch
Pryme Pay

Take money on your site, or on a checkout of your own.

No card, no OTP, nothing for the buyer to type in. They transfer from the bank app they already use, and the money lands in the same account your agents are running — already matched to the order, already in your books.

Pay from your bank app

We give the buyer a one-time account number. They transfer to it from any bank app or by USSD — no card, no OTP, nothing to type in.

Get the account number
  • Card details are never asked for, so they cannot leak.
  • The account is used once, then it closes.
  • Held with a licensed bank, insured by the NDIC.
Transfer exactly this amount

To this account, from any bank app. We watch it, and the page updates itself.

Send exactly₦26,767.50Copy
BankSolid Allianze MFB
Account number0000 000 000Copy
Account namePRYME / JOHNDOE‑ORD1042
Watching the account — nobody has to confirm anything.
Payment received

₦26,767.50 from GTBank · John D., matched to order ORD‑1042.

OrderORD-1042
Settled intoJohn Doe Trading Ltd · Naira account 0000 000 000
Receiptsent to the buyer
Get your receiptRun it again
Your checkout, your brand.On the site you already have, in your colours, on your own domain — or on a page we host for you.
A link for anything you sell.One price, one buyer, one link — sent on WhatsApp, Instagram or email, and paid the same way.
It lands already reconciled.Matched to the order, receipt issued, and in your books before you have looked at it.
Business Account

A team you did not have to hire.

Five agents come with the account. Each one has a job description, a budget and a ceiling you set. They do the work and bring it to you — nothing leaves the account without your signature.

CS Chief of Staff Runs the week

Knows what is stuck, who is waiting and what you promised — and keeps all three moving.

Booked a meeting with John Doe Foods for Thursday 11:00.
FI Finance Watches the money

Keeps the books as you trade and tells you the moment something does not add up.

Flagged a duplicate — invoice DP‑11908 was already paid in July.
COCompliance Keeps you inside the rules

Holds every filing to its own clock and screens names and payments against your policy — and logs what it refuses.

Screened 412 payments overnight and refused two of them.
SA Sales Chases what is owed

Goes back to the buyers who went quiet, with the receipt already attached.

Recovered ₦410,000 across three overdue invoices.
SU Customer Support Answers your customers

Replies, follows up on what they asked for and hands you only the ones that need you.

Resolved 4 conversations — two deliveries, one refund.
Every agent prepares and proposes. You are the only one who can approve.
Build on Pryme

Our rails, under your product.

Issue a dedicated Naira account number to each of your own customers, collect into it and reconcile against it. The same rails the Business Account runs on, with the licence behind them.

Read the API
Pryme Business

One business account. Every currency you trade in.

Dollars, pounds and euros beside a Naira account, on one ledger and one set of books. Five agents come with it and run the account — nothing leaves without your signature.

The Pryme Business home page: Naira, dollar and pound balances on one account, the money actions, five agents working and a live stream of what they have done
Business · the page your team signs into

A team you did not have to hire

Five agents come with the account. Each has a job description, a budget and a ceiling you set. They do the work and bring it to you — they propose, you approve.

CSChief of Staff Runs the week

Knows what is stuck, who is waiting and what you promised, and keeps all three moving.

Booked the quarterly review with your auditor for Thursday.
FIFinance Watches the money

Keeps the books in every currency you hold and flags the moment something does not add up.

Flagged a duplicate — invoice DP‑11908 was already paid in July.
COCompliance Keeps you inside the rules

Holds every filing to its own clock and screens names and payments against your policy — and logs what it refuses.

Screened 412 payments overnight and refused two of them.
SASales Chases what is owed

Goes back to the buyers who went quiet, with the invoice and the receipt already attached.

Recovered $12,400 across three overdue invoices.
SUCustomer Support Answers your customers

Replies, follows up on what they asked for and hands you only the ones that need you.

Resolved 4 conversations — two deliveries, one refund.
Every agent prepares and proposes. You are the only one who can approve.
Open a business account

Ten years, one trunk

The business has changed shape four times and never changed what it was rooted in. Each version was built out of what the last one could not do.

2016E-commerce

An online grocery store, built out of a faulty tab. Selling the food was the easy part — taking the money for it, and moving it, turned out to be the business.

2018OjirehPrime Card

A prepaid card. The first time the company issued rather than resold, and the first time it carried the obligations that come with holding somebody else’s money.

2020Microfinance bank

PrymeSolid Allianze acquired — an existing bank with an existing licence. The perimeter stopped being someone else’s to draw.

2023Multicurrency

More than one currency on one balance, and the rebrand to Pryme. A Nigerian business could hold dollars without holding a second institution.

2026Agentic operations

Accounts that do the work rather than only hold value. Five agents on the account, inside a policy you write — which is where the new mark starts.

Questions

The things people ask us first.

What is Pryme?

Pryme is a financial technology company. It gives people and businesses in Nigeria one account that holds Naira alongside dollars, pounds and euros, and a set of agents that do the running of it — keeping the books, chasing what is owed, answering customers and paying bills. Nothing leaves an account without the owner’s approval.

Can I hold dollars, pounds and euros in a Pryme account?

Yes. A Pryme account holds Naira, US dollars, pounds sterling and euros side by side on one ledger, each with its own account details — a Nigerian account number, a US account number, a UK sort code and an IBAN for the euro area. You can swap between them at a rate you set, and every currency has its own statement.

What is Spaces?

Spaces is available in Nigeria. It gives a shopper money to spend that can only be spent with a participating business. The business is paid into its Naira account whether or not the shopper repays, because Pryme carries the credit. For the business it is free to join, there is nothing monthly, and the customer’s identity is never shown — only a reference and what it is worth.

What do the agents on a Pryme Business Account do?

Five agents come with the account. The Chief of Staff runs the week and keeps what is stuck moving. Finance watches the money and keeps the books as you trade. Compliance keeps the filings on time and screens what moves. Sales chases what you are owed. Customer Support answers your customers and follows up. Each has a job description, a budget and a ceiling you set, and each one proposes rather than acts — nothing leaves the account without your signature.

How does Pryme Pay work?

Pryme Pay takes payments on your own site or on a checkout page you control. The buyer is given a one-time account number and transfers to it from any bank app or by USSD — no card, no OTP, nothing to type in. The money lands in the same account your agents are running, already matched to the order and already in your books.

What are Savings Boxes?

Savings Boxes are separate pots inside a Pryme account, held in Naira. Flexible Boxes can be withdrawn at any time, Fixed Boxes hold to a date, Investment Boxes hold for longer, and Interest-free Boxes earn nothing by design. A business can use them to ring-fence payroll and the tax it withholds, so that money cannot be spent by accident.

Who holds my money, and is it protected?

Pryme is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts and deposits are provided by Solid Allianze Microfinance Bank Limited, which is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and is a member of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Can I build on Pryme?

Yes. Pryme Rails lets a platform issue a dedicated Naira account number to each of its own customers, collect into it and reconcile against it, over one API — the same rails the Pryme Business Account runs on.

What is Pryme?

Pryme is a financial technology company. It gives you one account that holds US dollars, pounds sterling and euros beside Naira, with an assistant that runs the account for you and asks before anything moves. Accounts are provided in Nigeria today, and further markets open as each licence lands.

Can I open a Pryme account from outside Nigeria?

Accounts are provided in Nigeria today, subject to verification and approval. Foreign-currency balances are held and converted inside that account, so you can hold, receive and swap dollars, pounds and euros wherever you are.

Which currencies can I hold with Pryme?

Naira, US dollars, pounds sterling and euros, side by side on one ledger. Each has its own details — a Nigerian account number, a US account number, a UK sort code and an IBAN for the euro area — and each has its own statement.

How do I send money to Nigeria with Pryme?

Swap at a rate you set rather than the rate of the day, then send to any Pryme username or to a Nigerian bank account. There is no fee to send to another Pryme account.

What does the assistant do?

Eva is the assistant inside the Pryme app. She opens accounts, moves money, saves toward your goals, pays what is due and follows up what is owed to you — and asks you before anything moves.

What is Pryme Rails?

Pryme Rails lets a platform issue a dedicated Naira account number to each of its own customers, collect into it and reconcile against it, over one API — the same rails the Pryme Business Account runs on.

The Ledger

Notes on money that does the work: what we are building, what the regulation actually says, and how we think about letting software act on money. Read the Ledger

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Home · The Ledger · History and calendars
Data & reference

List of CBN governors since 1958, with dates in office

Every Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 1958, with years in office, acting governors, and the main events of each term in one citable table.

PR
Pryme researchMoney history desk · 17 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
The short answer

The Central Bank of Nigeria has had 12 substantive governors, beginning with Roy Pentelow Fenton in 1958. Olayemi Cardoso has been Governor since September 2023; before him Godwin Emefiele served from 2014 to 2023. Two deputies have also served as acting governor: Sarah Alade in 2014 and Folashodun Shonubi in 2023.

The CBN was established by the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 1958 and began operations on 1 July 1959. The Governor chairs the CBN board and the Monetary Policy Committee and is appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, for a five-year term that can be renewed once under the CBN Act 2007.

CBN governors in order (as of October 2026)

#GovernorIn officeNotes
1Roy Pentelow Fenton1958–1963First Governor; oversaw the start of operations and the Nigerian pound
2Alhaji Aliyu Mai-Bornu1963–1967First Nigerian Governor
3Dr Clement Nyong Isong1967–1975Civil war period; naira introduced in 1973
4Mallam Adamu Ciroma1975–1977Later Minister of Finance
5Mr Ola Vincent1977–1982Indigenisation era
6Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed1982–19931984 currency colour change; Structural Adjustment Programme from 1986
7Chief Paul Agbai Ogwuma1993–1999Bank distress and closures of the 1990s
8Chief (Dr) Joseph Oladele Sanusi1999–2004Universal banking introduced in 2001
9Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo2004–2009Bank consolidation to ₦25 billion capital; 89 banks became 25
10Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi2009–20142009 bank rescue, AMCON, cashless policy, BVN launch; suspended February 2014
–Dr Sarah Alade (acting)2014Acting Governor after Sanusi's suspension
11Mr Godwin Emefiele2014–2023Multiple exchange-rate windows, eNaira, 2022 naira redesign; suspended June 2023
–Mr Folashodun Shonubi (acting)2023Acting Governor; FX market unification in June 2023
12Mr Olayemi Cardoso2023–presentTook office September 2023; FX reforms, bank recapitalisation

Terms that shaped Nigerian banking

Soludo, 2004 to 2009

Charles Soludo announced in July 2004 that banks must hold at least ₦25 billion in capital by 31 December 2005. The number of banks fell from 89 to 25 through mergers and acquisitions. Our 2005 bank consolidation explainer lists the banks that emerged.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, 2009 to 2014

Sanusi took office as the global financial crisis exposed bad loans at several banks. In August and October 2009 the CBN removed the leadership of eight banks and injected funds. The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was created in 2010 to buy bad loans. His term also saw the start of the cashless policy in Lagos in 2012 and the launch of the BVN in 2014. He was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2014.

Emefiele, 2014 to 2023

Godwin Emefiele served two terms. His period saw several separate exchange-rate windows, restrictions on FX for listed import items, the launch of the eNaira in October 2021 and the 2022 naira redesign. He was suspended by President Bola Tinubu on 9 June 2023.

Cardoso, from 2023

Olayemi Cardoso was confirmed by the Senate in September 2023. His term has included completion of FX market unification, clearing of the FX backlog, a sharp rise in the policy rate through 2024, and the 2024 to 2026 bank recapitalisation. See our FX unification timeline and recapitalisation tracker.

Earlier governors in brief

  • Fenton and Mai-Bornu (1958–1967): built the bank from its start in 1959, issued the Nigerian pound and handed over to Nigerian leadership in 1963.
  • Isong (1967–1975): led the CBN through the civil war, including the change of currency notes in 1968, and the 1973 switch to the naira.
  • Ciroma and Vincent (1975–1982): the oil-boom years, when the naira was administratively fixed and strong against the dollar.
  • Ahmed (1982–1993): the 1984 colour change and, from September 1986, the second-tier foreign exchange market under the Structural Adjustment Programme.
  • Ogwuma (1993–1999): a period of bank distress in which the CBN liquidated a large group of failed banks in January 1998.
  • Joseph Sanusi (1999–2004): universal banking from 2001, allowing banks to combine commercial, merchant and other services, and the return of a Dutch auction for FX in 2002.

For the institutions these governors shaped, see our history of Nigerian banking.

How a Governor is appointed and removed

  • Appointment: by the President, subject to Senate confirmation (CBN Act 2007, section 8).
  • Term: five years, renewable once.
  • Removal: the Act provides for removal in specified circumstances. Whether a President can suspend a Governor without Senate involvement was debated after the 2014 and 2023 suspensions.
  • Deputies: four Deputy Governors, also appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One is named acting Governor when the post is vacant.

What the Governor is responsible for

Section 2 of the CBN Act 2007 sets the bank's objects: to ensure monetary and price stability, issue legal tender currency, maintain external reserves to safeguard the value of the naira, promote a sound financial system, and act as banker and financial adviser to the Federal Government. The Act gives the CBN operational autonomy in pursuing these objects. In practice the Governor is the public face of monetary policy, chairs the Bankers' Committee and signs the circulars that set rules for banks, microfinance banks and payment companies.

How we put this together

Names and years are from the CBN's list of past governors on its website and the CBN Act 2007. Events are from CBN press releases and communiqués. Where the CBN gives only years in office, so do we.

Questions people ask

Who is the current CBN Governor?

Olayemi Cardoso, who took office in September 2023 after Senate confirmation.

Who was the first Nigerian CBN Governor?

Alhaji Aliyu Mai-Bornu, who served from 1963 to 1967. His portrait appears on the ₦1,000 note with Clement Isong.

How long is a CBN Governor's term?

Five years, renewable once, under the CBN Act 2007.

How many CBN governors has Nigeria had?

Twelve substantive governors, plus two acting governors, Sarah Alade (2014) and Folashodun Shonubi (2023).

Sources

  1. Central Bank of Nigeria: circulars, press releases and publications · accessed Oct 2026
  2. CBN Act 2007 (Laws of the Federation, PLAC) · accessed Oct 2026
  3. Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria · accessed Oct 2026

This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.

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Nigeria's 2005 bank consolidation: the 25 banks that emerged

How the 2004–2005 ₦25 billion capital rule cut Nigeria's banks from 89 to 25, which banks merged into which, and what became of each bank since.

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