Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has introduced Google Pay across its banking and payment platforms, allowing GTBank customers to make online payments with their debit cards while businesses on its Squad platform can accept payments through the service.
The development follows the launch of Google Pay in Nigeria on October 27, 2026, placing GTCO among the financial institutions adopting the digital payment service from its first day in the country. Through the integration, customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) can link eligible debit cards to Google Wallet and use Google Pay to complete online transactions locally and internationally.
The service also allows businesses using Squad, the payment gateway operated by GTCO’s payments subsidiary, HabariPay, to receive payments from customers who choose Google Pay at checkout. The arrangement gives GTCO access to both sides of a digital transaction, providing payment options for consumers while helping businesses receive money more conveniently.
For GTBank customers, using the service requires adding an eligible debit card to Google Wallet through an Android device or Google Account. Once the card is linked, customers can select Google Pay when making online purchases and confirm transactions without repeatedly entering their card numbers, expiry dates or security codes.
Google Pay uses digital tokens in place of actual card details, helping protect sensitive financial information during transactions. This means merchants do not receive customers’ actual card numbers when payments are processed through the service. Customers can use the payment option for eligible online purchases, including food delivery, travel bookings, subscriptions, utility bills and other digital services.
On the business side, Squad has added Google Pay to its checkout options alongside existing methods such as debit cards, bank transfers, USSD and buy now, pay later services. The feature is activated by default for businesses using Squad, although merchants can choose to disable it. Businesses already set up to receive international payments can also accept Google Pay transactions from customers outside Nigeria, including Nigerians living abroad.
Speaking on the development, GTCO Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, said the introduction was aimed at addressing the challenges that cause customers to abandon online purchases.
“Most failed online payments are not refused, they are abandoned. Somewhere along the way the customer gives up, and the business never learns about the sale it lost,” he said.
Agbaje added that the company wanted to make digital transactions safer and easier by ensuring that GTBank customers could make payments while Squad merchants could receive them through the same payment ecosystem. Similarly, HabariPay Managing Director, Eduofon Japhet, said the integration would make online checkout easier for businesses by reducing the number of steps customers need to complete their purchases.
“For a merchant, every extra field at checkout is a reason for a customer to leave. Squad businesses now get Google Pay inside the checkout they already use, so their customers can pay in a few taps with a card they have already saved. A merchant set up for international payments can now be paid with Google Pay by a customer anywhere in the world, with nothing new to integrate,” she said.
The development comes as digital payment providers expand their services in Nigeria, offering customers more convenient ways to pay while helping businesses improve online transactions and reach wider markets.
