There are a number of impressive financial technology (FinTech) companies operating around the continent, and 2019 could be a very important year for their continued growth and success. From mobile money transfer apps and online lending platforms to tech firms determined to help users save, it is fair to say that the FinTech industry is thriving.
These companies are also transforming how consumers use technology, and thus redefining the customer experience within the financial services sector. Below are 15 of the companies changing the face of financial services in Nigeria:
Appzone is a provider of banking and payment solutions. This company has registered about 2 million accounts and issues over 30,000 cards and processes 100,000 transactions daily. AppZone provides such solutions as retail banking cloud solutions, personal banking cloud solutions, commerce cloud solutions, branchless and agent banking cloud solutions, business banking cloud solutions, and mobile financial platform, as well as a range of on-premise products (e.g., instant & automated card issuance, prepaid card management, EFT settlements and auto-reconciliation, and ATM monitoring).
Wallet.ng provides access to financial products through phone numbers. With a wallet account, users can make payments for utility bills, recharge, and send money to anyone in Nigeria with just a phone number or directly into their bank account and make cardless ATM withdrawals. Wallet.ng also allows individuals to accept payments online from local and international cards by giving users a personalized URL.
ChatPay allows users to perform financial transactions directly from some social media channels. Features of this company include balance enquiry, funds transfer, ATM locator, airtime purchases, bill payments, account mini statement, help through chat, cinema listings, and change PIN.
VoguePay is an online payment processor that offers buyers and sellers a secure and easy-to-use means of transacting business online. Owned and managed by Vogue Web Solution, VoguePay allows site owners to receive payments for their goods and services on their website without any setup fee.
CowriePay is a payment gateway that allows customers to buy now and pay later. This company is in partnership with licensed financial services providers, fund providers, and retailers/merchants. At CowriePay, customers can also send and receive money from anyone with an email or mobile phone number.
RenMoney MFB Limited (formerly RenCredit) is a consumer finance organization with expertise in the provision of simple money solutions. RenMoney operates under the license a microfinance bank, the closest to a consumer finance banking license available in Nigeria. The company has a customer base of over 25,000 customers. Apart from being the first microfinance bank to launch cloud technology with minimal fixed asset investment in Nigeria, the company has a functional platform which guarantees and ensures an efficient and scalable operational system, with a promise of 24-hour disbursement to customer’s preferred account.
eTranzact is Nigeria’s multi-application and multi-channel electronic transaction switching and payment processing platform. eTranzact has operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, and UK and is currently expanding its business operations to other countries across the globe. Launched in September 2003, eTranzact currently has a global reach extending its services to include products across all aspects of the e-payment space: ATM, Internet, POS, and Mobile. eTranzact has also deployed its mobile payment solutions to banks and other financial institutions alike. Moreover, the CBN granted eTranzact the license to provide mobile money services to individuals with a special focus on the non-banking sector.
Remita is an e-payments and e-collections solution on a single multi-bank platform. Today, Remita is used by many individuals and public and private sector organizations that process over N500 billion worth of transactions on a monthly basis. Adopted by the CBN for the payment and collections of funds on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria and used by all 22 commercial banks and over 400 microfinance banks, Remita has significantly assisted in revolutionizing the e-payment industry in Nigeria. Remita also comes with an optional payroll and HR solution for fully integrated processing.
Flutterwave provides the underlying technology platform that allows businesses to make and accept payments anywhere in Africa. In just over a year since its launch, Flutterwave’s technology has been responsible for processing over $1.2 billion dollars across 10 million transactions. Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg, the company is eliminating barriers to the digital economy for African consumers and businesses.
Piggybank.ng is a platform that works directly with financial institutions with the aim of enabling users to save little amount of money periodically (daily, weekly or monthly) without thinking about it. The funds in user’s Piggybank.ng account is warehoused and monitored by the company’s partner bank, UBA Nigeria Plc. Piggybank.ng provides the saving technology. Besides, all the tools that users need to save their money are built into Piggybank.ng dashboard. Piggybank.ng automates the process of saving meagre amounts daily, weekly or monthly; it also allows users to withdraw their funds for free on only set withdrawal dates, thereby making saving more possible for users by eliminating the temptation to withdraw.
Paystack helps Nigerian businesses accept payments online from users anywhere in the world with MasterCard, Visa and Verve cards. Paystack operates as a payments platform which enables the online payments process very easy on the part of both the consumers and the businesses they are trying to pay. In explicit terms, they make it easy for merchants to accept credit and debit card payments online from customers.
It will now allow “starter businesses” to use its platform by verifying business owners’ phone numbers with Truecaller’s crowd-sourced verification system thanks to a new partnership between the two companies. In addition, Paystack will also require merchants to provide verified personal bank details and a national ID.
KiaKia is a licensed, entirely-online, direct and P2P lender that uses technology to provide direct personal loans at flexible rates. This company matches borrowers with individuals or corporate lenders at mutually-agreed rates. With improved credibility, borrowers are able to make their own interest rates offer to selected lenders while KiaKia takes a little fee for creating and managing the platform.
Paylater is an entirely online lending platform that provides short-term loans in Nigeria to help cover unexpected expenses or urgent cash needs. Customers can apply for a Paylater loan 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with its quick application process that allows applicants to know their status within minutes.
Lidya uses mobile-first technology and proprietary credit scoring algorithms to help African businesses and individuals open an account online in 15 minutes, manage funds, and access credit needed to grow their businesses and plan their futures. In addition, Lidya created dashboards and tools not only to help businesses manage their receivables and cash flow but also to assist individuals build credit scores that unlock higher credit limits and affordable rates.
Paga was founded in early 2009 with a mission to make it simple for people to access and use money across Africa. Paga is a mobile payment platform that allows its users to transfer money and make payments through their mobile devices. Paga acts as a mobile wallet where any user equipped with a mobile device can conduct transactional activities using their device. Paga was founded in Nigeria in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu and publicly launched in 2011.
Note: This list is not a ranking of the companies featured.
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