PalmPay Hits 10M Users in Nigeria

Lagos-based FinTech PalmPay has doubled its user base in the last six months to reach 10 million users in Nigeria.

Since its 2019 launch, PalmPay has been growing its user base in Nigeria and Tanzania, where it provides a payment app and agency banking network to facilitate payments and transfers, according to a Friday (Aug. 30) press release. In Nigeria, the startup is regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria under a Mobile Money Operator license.

“The pandemic has accelerated the shift from cash to digital payments, and we are looking forward to continuing to work together with regulators and our partners to innovate to meet the financial needs of consumers,” said PalmPay Managing Director Chika Nwosu in the release.

PalmPay processes millions of transactions a day, the release stated. The company is focused on financial inclusion as 36% of Nigerians are unbanked.

“Our significant growth in Nigeria demonstrates PalmPay’s ability to innovate to meet the financial needs of consumers, and we are looking forward to replicating this success as we scale in more markets across Africa [this year],” said PalmPay Chief Marketing Officer Sofia Zab in the release.

PalmPay notched $100 million in a Series A funding round in August 2021 and has raised $140 million in total, according to the release.

With PalmPay’s user base growing at its current rate, the FinTech is cementing its place in a competitive Nigerian payments landscape. Some of the other players in the space include one of Africa’s most valuable startups, OPay.

Last year, OPay became one of just a handful of Nigerian companies valued at over $1 billion thanks to a $400 funding round.

Read more: Nigerian Payments Giant OPay in Talks to Raise $400M at $1.5B Valuation

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