PalmPay, one of Nigeria’s leading fintech players, has kicked off 2025 with strong momentum—crossing 15 million daily transactions in the first quarter, up sharply from the 10 million it averaged daily in 2024. The milestone was revealed during a press conference and media roundtable to highlight the company’s Q1 performance, marking a significant leap in usage and engagement within Nigeria’s competitive mobile money ecosystem.
The fintech also disclosed that it now boasts 35 million users, with each user making an average of 50 transactions monthly. According to Managing Director Chika Nwosu, this high engagement is backed by a 99.5% transaction success rate and strong infrastructure investments aimed at improving system reliability and trust.
Expanding Africa Footprint
Building on this momentum, PalmPay plans to expand into four additional African countries—South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania—by the end of 2025. This expansion will grow its operational footprint to six countries, adding to existing operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Nwosu emphasized that the move is part of a broader strategy to scale across key African markets and position the company for a potential public listing in the future.
While PalmPay has not disclosed specific product offerings for each new market, it did confirm that in Tanzania, the company will focus on business-to-business (B2B) services. In other markets, it is expected to replicate the super app model it currently runs in Nigeria—combining payments, savings, investment, and insurance in one platform.
Battling Fierce Competition
The move into new markets won’t be without its challenges. In South Africa, PalmPay will face incumbents like MTN’s MoMo (11 million users) and TymeBank (9 million users). In Côte d’Ivoire, fintech unicorn Wave already commands over 70% market share with 20 million accounts, while MTN and Airtel dominate Uganda’s mobile money space.
Despite the competition, PalmPay believes its focus on system reliability, local partnerships, and a wide agent network can help it win market share. “Mobile money wasn’t always perceived as viable,” Nwosu said. “We identified a core problem—reliability for even the simplest transactions. So we built technology that works.”
Wealth Products and Financial Services Expansion
PalmPay’s wealth product has also seen massive traction. In 2024, the company paid over ₦4 billion (approximately $2.4 million) in interest to users, indicating over ₦18 billion ($11 million) in deposits within the wealth wallet alone. The product offers daily interest payouts and up to 22% annual interest, making it one of the most attractive savings options in Nigeria.
Through strategic partnerships with firms like Leadway Assurance and ARM, PalmPay allows users to earn interest and even buy treasury bills—all within the app—despite operating under a mobile money license. “We’ve created a one-stop financial marketplace through layered, compliant partnerships,” Nwosu added.
Deepening Local Reach and Infrastructure
The fintech plans to deepen its reach in underserved regions of Nigeria, where it already operates in all 774 local government areas. PalmPay opened a new office in Q1 and intends to launch regional hubs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Following the launch of PalmPay Debit Cards in March 2025 in partnership with Verve, the company aims to distribute over 5 million debit cards nationwide by year-end. Distribution will be handled through its network of 1 million+ mobile money agents, who already serve 13 million monthly customers.
Industry Context
PalmPay’s growth reflects broader trends in Nigeria’s fintech sector. According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), mobile money operators, including PalmPay and OPay, processed ₦71.5 trillion ($47 billion) in transactions in 2024—a 53.4% increase from ₦46.6 trillion in 2023. Transaction volumes also jumped 23%, from 3 billion to 3.9 billion in one year.
With Nigeria’s rising smartphone penetration and demand for accessible financial services, PalmPay is betting that its tech-first, customer-centric approach will make it a dominant force not just in Nigeria—but across Africa.
