Expert Harps On Strategies For Driving Digital Payment Adoption In Africa

A tech expert and the chief marketing officer of PalmPay, Sofia Zab, in highlighting strategies for driving digital payment adoption in Africa, harps on innovation in payment service delivery to enhance growth in financial inclusion in the country.

At the recent Tech Unite Africa 2025 conference in Lagos, PalmPay’s chief marketing officer, Sofia Zab, shared valuable insights on accelerating the shift from cash to digital payments in Africa, as the company introduced its latest innovation: the PalmPay Debit Card.

During a panel discussion at the recent Tech Unite Africa 2025 conference in Lagos,

Zab addressed the critical barriers hindering digital payment adoption which are reliability and cost, encountered by PalmPay when the company launched in Nigeria.

She noted that, in 2019, many Nigerian consumers and merchants avoided digital payments due to frequent transaction failures and high fees.

To overcome these challenges, PalmPay developed a robust infrastructure ensuring a 99.95% transaction success rate and pioneered a user-friendly model with zero rated bank transfers, fee-free bill payments and cashback rewards.

Once users experience the benefits, they don’t want to return to cash, Zab stated, adding that, ‘the key to shifting consumer behaviour is making digital payments more convenient, more rewarding, and less stressful than using cash.’ As consumers adopted cashless payments, she said, they began seeking out merchants that would accept payment with transfer, driving digitisation in retail payments organically.

Zab also highlighted PalmPay’s inclusive approach to building a cashless ecosystem, especially in areas with unreliable internet access. Beyond its smartphone app, Nigerians can transact through PalmPay’s nationwide network of mobile money agents, who are equipped with multiple devices and SIM cards from various providers and can transact on behalf of users if a particular network is experiencing an outage, she noted.

In 2024, PalmPay went a step further by introducing a USSD code (*861#) for users without data access, and with the new PalmPay Debit Card, its customers now have another access point and can withdraw cash from ATMs or point-of-sale terminals when digital transactions are not feasible. ‘For us, the key is about meeting people where they are, rather than waiting for the perfect infrastructure to arrive,’ Zab emphasised.

In alignment with its mission to drive financial access, PalmPay unveiled the PalmPay Debit Card at the conference. Developed in partnership with Verve, the card offers zero maintenance fees, easy in-app application with nationwide delivery, and integration into PalmPay’s full suite of financial services – including cashback, merchant rewards, and high-yield savings.