What’s Happening?
Nigerian fintech PalmPay announced plans to expand into South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania by the end of 2025, building on strong momentum from processing over 15 million daily transactions in Nigeria, its home market during Q1 2025. This expansion will increase PalmPay’s footprint to six African countries, following earlier launches in Ghana and Kenya. The company says it serves more than 35 million users in Nigeria alone, with customers performing an average of 50 transactions monthly at a 99.5% success rate.
Competitive Landscape and Strategic Focus
PalmPay will face significant competition in these new markets. In South Africa, it will compete with MTN’s MoMo platform and TymeBank; in Côte d’Ivoire, fintech unicorn Wave dominates; and in Uganda, telecom giants MTN and Airtel control much of the mobile money space. In Tanzania, PalmPay plans to offer business-to-business services, though product specifics for other markets remain undisclosed. The company’s strategy focuses on system reliability and seamless transfers, addressing key pain points in mobile money adoption.
Financial Growth and Product Innovation
In 2024, PalmPay paid out over ₦4 billion ($2.4 million) in interest to 9 million users through its wealth product, which offers up to 22% annual interest on deposits. Despite mobile money license limitations, PalmPay users can earn interest and purchase treasury bills via partnerships with insurance and investment firms like Leadway Assurance and ARM. According to the Managing Director Chika Nwosu The company prides itself as a super app integrating banking, investment, insurance, and payments, creating a one-stop financial marketplace.
Operational Expansion and User Engagement
PalmPay plans to deepen its reach in Nigeria’s underserved regions by opening offices across the country’s six geopolitical zones, complementing its presence in all 774 local government areas. After launching its first debit card with Verve in March, PalmPay aims to distribute over 5 million cards nationwide by the end of 2025, leveraging a network of over 1 million agents serving 13 million customers monthly. The company maintains an 80% customer retention rate and continues investing in technology, security, and product improvements to sustain growth.
