The rapid expansion of numerous fintech enterprises in Nigeria is indisputable, capitalizing on the unbanked segment of the Nigerian population.

Several of these fintech firms have achieved substantial industry prominence, to the extent that they now contend with the traditional banking sector. Key players in the fintech landscape include PalmPay [hyperlink with – https://bit.ly/4805x0K], Opay, Moniepoint, and other industry leaders.

The achievements by these various fintech companies have not come without their challenges, and according to the Managing Director of PalmPay, Chika Nwosu, about recent developments in the organization, he said.

“There is no business that has not faced challenges on its way to growth. Gaining customers’ trust has been crucial because many do not believe in fintech banks. They ask questions such as how secure is the platform and hope the business does not go extinct. But we are gradually gaining customers’ trust and it is impressive to note that a lot of our customers have supported the business by being brand ambassadors in their ways”

The company which recently added an easy payment method for commuters within the Lagos metropolis to enable easy top-up of their Cowry wallet on the platform with zero convenience fee, believe this would make it easy for commuters to navigate from one axis to another without any hassle, and in reaction to this, many users feel it’s the best as captioned by one “Omolade” she said, I love this feature, it’ll save people a lot of stress”

While it is no surprise that fintech companies now lead the way, Experts have long predicted that only by growing retail banking would the millions of Nigerians outside the banking industry be included.

The country’s overall inclusion target was 80 per cent by 2020. Data from Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) shows that only 64 per cent of Nigerian adults were financially included by the end of 2020.

Banks like Access Bank with over 49 million customers, and First Bank with over 39 million, giants in the fintech industry come with advantages as well, with Opay, Moniepoint, as well as PalmPay [hyperlink with – https://bit.ly/4805x0K] with over 25 million users, nearly overtaking GTBank with 28 million customers, at this rate it’s a question of when, and not if.

It is imperative to understand how the various platform also contributes to financial inclusion in Nigeria, according to Statista, it is believed that the Digital Payments market and its number of users will rise to the tune of 146.10m users by 2027.

In the words of Mr Nwosu, he believes PalmPay with 36 offices across six (6) geographical zones in Nigeria would be able to cater for the service of its customers effectively in his words,
“Through our support and customer service hub of over 400,000 Merchants and 500,000 Agents network to drive financial inclusion, especially in rural areas and serve the unbanked population. In addition, we are building a cashless system that serves users, businesses, and lots of people by leveraging our Agent and Merchant network.

There is still more work to be done because there are still about a quarter of the Nigerian population not financially included which limits economic growth and technological advancement in the country.

No other sector has raised more capital than fintech in the past five years, and February 2023 was no exception. Startups in the financial services industry raised $572.9 million and made up 84 per cent of the funding received throughout the month

Based on Statista’s data, the digital payment market in Nigeria is projected to reach approximately $17 billion in 2023. This promising scenario strategically places fintech companies in a prime position to capture a significant share of these funds.

This isn’t with its challenges as narrated above by PalmPay’s Managing Director, since the fintechs have over time built the trust customers need, and that’s certainly a sure way to go.