By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A leading pan-African financial technology (fintech) company, PalmPay, has been commended for its impact on Africa’s $912 billion mobile money industry.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator (MMO) license of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), PalmPay has registered over 30 million accounts on its smartphone apps.
In addition to the self-serve app, its network of 1.1 million agents and merchants is serving 15 million customers monthly. The fintech also operates in Ghana and Tanzania.
In its recently released report titled The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2024, GSMA identified PalmPay as a key player driving the adoption of mobile money in Nigeria, praising it as a “prominent non-MNO-led mobile money provider with a significant market share in the country.
In the report, the Director General of GSMA, Mr Mats Granryd, noted that the industry had grown in the 10 years to 2022, with mobile money contributing “$600 billion to the GDP of countries with a mobile money service” and opening up more “opportunities for citizens, businesses and economies across the world.”
He stated that Sub-Saharan Africa has been a driver of mobile money’s success, and was home to almost three-quarters of the world’s accounts.
West Africa contributed significantly to the growth of the industry in recent years, with the number of registered mobile money accounts doubling between 2013 and 2023. This growth was mainly driven by Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
Commenting on the report, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of PalmPay, Ms Sofia Zab, said, “This recognition underscores our commitment to drive financial inclusion and economic empowerment across the continent.
“By leveraging the increase in smartphone adoption, PalmPay made a significant contribution to growing the use of mobile money in Nigeria.
“Our easy-to-use and comprehensive digital and financial super app not only provides access to seamless and secure transactions but also opens the door to cutting-edge, affordable financial services for the unbanked and underbanked population.”
The PalmPay app offers money transfers, airtime, data and bill payments, as well as access to other financial services such as credit and savings. Customers without their devices can access PalmPay’s services through the company’s network of 500,000 mobile money agents.