‘Smartphone Penetration, Internet Connectivity Spike Access To Mobile Money Services’

Smartphone penetration, internet connectivity and innovative technologies have spiked access to mobile money services in the country.

The managing director, PalmPay, Chika Nwosu, who stated this at an interactive engagement with the media held at the company’s head office in Ikeja, Lagos at the weekend, noted that, with smartphone penetration projected to reach 65 per cent by 2026 as well as improved internet infrastructure, more Nigerians will be enabled to access mobile money services.

He disclosed that, with fintech companies such as PalmPay evolving through digital wallets and seamless payment gateways, accessibility to mobile money service was bound to expand soon.

He emphasised that, with demand for affordability of financial services growing, more opportunities would be unlocked for PalmPay in the nearest future.

“From under 10,000 agents in 2015 to over 1.5 million agents in 2023, agent networks have become the backbone of mobile money operations in Nigeria. For this reason, we are more likely to see a sharp increase in the number of mobile money agents and merchants. Apart from that, MMOs will increasingly use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences, such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and fraud detection,” he said.

He stressed that his platform will continue to leverage cutting-edge technology by making world-class financial services available to the mass market, particularly, in regions where it is needed the most.

He disclosed that the platform remains the biggest financial app in Nigeria given the fact that it currently boasts of 16 million active users on a monthly basis.

According to him, the platform remains committed to driving financial inclusion in underserved communities, hence, the reason for expanding rapidly into new markets! revealing that, the value of monthly transactions on the app was estimated to be worth $6 million with success rate of transaction at 99.5 per cent.

He explained that the platform currently serves over 35 million customers and 1.2 million business users who operate as both merchants and agents, adding that the users operate digital accounts, make real-time payments and offer savings and credit solutions.

On his path, the head, Risk and Compliance, MLRO at PalmPay, Donald Ubeh, in a presentation on impact of Fintech, revealed that efforts were ongoing to remove Nigeria from FATF Grey list as 50 per cent of the requirements have already been met.

He stated that, with more collaboration with regulators and other financial institutions, it was only a matter of time that Nigeria’s name will be expunged from the list.

While highlighting the impact of fintech companies such as PalmPay, Ubeh explained that the berth of PalmPay has led to economic empowerment particularly for individual users and several Small and Medium Scale enterprises.

He noted that many Nigerians including bank customers have migrated their funds to PalmPay owing to convenience and accessibility it provides. He added that mobile money operators were conceived with the aim of driving financial inclusion for the underserved and unbanked population.

According to EFInA, increasing adoption of fintech companies by Nigerians has led to an increase in financial inclusion rate by 13 per cent in 13 years.