British mobile money company Monitise announced yesterday it has received a Mobile Payment System Provider license to provide mobile money services from Nigeria's Central Bank.

The company received a provisional license in December of last year and has already set up pilot programs in four cities and 11 rural locations, the company said.

The company said next steps include enabling banks and financial institutions within Nigeria to provide the Monetise services.

Services available through Monitise include money deposit, fund transfers, withdrawals and airtime "top up." Services can be handled through banks or through a network of registered Monitise agents and merchants.

"A key advantage of the platform which Monitise is creating in Nigeria is that it can be used by any local bank or payment provider to offer secure and flexible mobile financial management to their customers," said Prateek Shrivastava, managing director of Monitise Africa, in a statement.

"We look forward to working with new partners across Nigeria to develop the country’s shared services," Prateek said.

The company said it is looking to use the services it has created in Nigeria as a template for other markets around the world.

"We are committed to bringing the latest developments in mobile financial management not only to Africa but across the world’s other emerging markets, to extend the benefits and opportunities of financial inclusion and mobile money for all, truly bringing the unbanked into the financial fold," Monitise Group CEO Alastair Lukies said in the announcement.

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