Zest Payments Limited, a fintech subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC and part of the Standard Bank Group, has partnered Huawei Cloud to strengthen Nigeria’s digital payments infrastructure and deliver stable, scalable and compliant payment services nationwide.
According to a joint statement by Zest and Huawei Cloud made available to PUNCH Online on Monday, the rapid growth of Nigeria’s digital economy has made secure and reliable payment infrastructure critical to business expansion, from micro-merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations.
The statement noted that accelerating digital adoption had triggered a surge in transaction volumes and user demand on the Zest platform, placing significant pressure on traditional IT systems, particularly in performance, scalability and regulatory compliance.
To address these challenges, Zest adopted Huawei Cloud’s architecture to scale its technology foundation and support its expanding operations.
Commenting on the collaboration, the Chief Executive Officer of Zest, Stanley Jacob, said the partnership would enable the company to deliver secure and reliable payment services even during peak transaction periods.
“With Huawei Cloud, we can deliver secure, scalable and reliable payment services—even during peak periods—while preparing the platform for future innovation.
“This partnership ensures that our systems meet financial-grade security and compliance standards, giving businesses and consumers confidence in every transaction,” Jacob said.
He disclosed that the collaboration had produced measurable operational gains, including a 30 per cent improvement in platform performance, a reduction of cloud-related costs by about 50 per cent, and significantly enhanced system stability.
According to him, by leveraging Huawei Cloud’s integrated security framework and local support, Zest has maintained uninterrupted operations while remaining fully compliant with Central Bank of Nigeria and PCI-DSS standards.
“The true value of this collaboration is that it allows us to innovate confidently, expand services securely and support the broader financial sector in Nigeria.
“Technology is the bridge between businesses and the future of the digital economy,” Jacob said.
Looking ahead, Zest said it would continue to explore artificial intelligence-driven innovations in collaboration with Huawei Cloud, aimed at building a more open, intelligent and resilient fintech platform.
The company added that by aligning its technological growth with Nigeria’s digital economy objectives, it is contributing to a more connected, inclusive and reliable financial ecosystem.
