Financial technology companies popularly known as fintech companies are fast rising as a result of the number of unbanked citizens in Nigeria. Banks and financial institutions in Nigeria are known to only operate in top cities and superhighways which leaves millions of Nigerians in rural, semi-urban and other terrain unbanked.
Fintech companies are businesses that provide financial services to the public using software. Unlike the traditional banking system, they are not hindered by factors like legacy operating system. The goal of fintech companies is to improve financial procedures and increase automation in the industry.
There is a rapid growth in Nigerian fintech companies due to advances of technology in the financial service sector. Currently, there are over 20 fintech companies and firms operating in the country.
Here are the most popular and widely used fintech companies in Nigeria
Interswitch
Interswitch is ranked the biggest and best fintech company in Nigeria. It is an African-centred integrated digital payments and commerce company that encourages circulation of money just as the exchange of value among individuals and associations on a convenient and steady bases.
It was founded by Mitchell Elegbe, started operation in 2002 and has grown into one of the biggest and most trusted financial technology companies in Nigeria. Interswitch owns Nigeria’s popular debit card, Verve.
Paystack
Paystack is a payment platform that makes the online payments process consistent for both the consumers and the businesses they are attempting to pay. It also enables businesses to complete payments from clients utilizing MasterCard, Visa and Verve cards anywhere on the planet.
In October 2020, Stripe, a payment solution giant acquired Paystack in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Flutterwave
Flutter wave company was founded in 2006 by Olugbenga Agboola and Andela co-founder, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji.
Flutter-wave completes payment services from more than 68 online payment gateways in Nigeria.This includes mobile money and places them under one platform. The service is presently active and can receive and send money in more than 30 African nations.
Also, they help organizations in Africa go global by smoothening the exchange of funds in 150+ monetary standards.
Recently, Flutterwave was celebrated for raising as much as $170 million, which placed it at over $1 billion in value.
Remita
Remita helps individuals and businesses collect money, make payments and manage their finance. It is one of the popularly used payments infrastructure for government levies and taxes.
Developed by SystemSpecs, Remita is in fact a success story and a pride to Africa. SystemSpecs was established in 1991 by John Obaro.
Paga
Paga is a mobile payment company that is tested, reliable and quick Even without an internet connection; users can make payment by simply dialling the code, *242#.
The initial goal of Paga was simply to enable users to transfer money without charges regardless of the amount. However, with time, the company brought in other features which enable bank deposits, bill payments and the ability to pay in some stores.
eTransact
E-Tranzact launched in 2003, is a multi-application, multi-network and multi-channel electronic payment platform that supports every significant network; including AMEX, VISA and MasterCard.
The founder and CEO of the company is Niyi Toluwalope. The company also owns financial service providers like Mobile Topup, PocketMoni, CorporatePay, BankIT and ATM CardlexCash.
In 2018, one of the company’s platform was reported to have been involved in an N11 billion fraud. As a result of this, CBN ordered the immediate removal of some major directors of the FinTech company including the then CEO, Valentin Obi.The scandal affected the public image of the company as it recorded a loss of N3.1 billion after tax in 2018. However, the following year, the company came back to life as it reported a profit of N96 million after tax.
Today, it is rated one of the top 10 FinTech companies in Nigeria. In 2019, having received the award for the Best Corporate Turnaround and Transformation at the Business Day Top 25 CEOs and Next Bulls Awards.
Kuda
Kuda bank is a completely online bank, no paper, your account can be open in minutes. Its meant to be a digital-only bank that runs predominantly on smartphones.
This fintech bank offers customized Mastercard ATM card with no transfer fees or ATM maintenance fees. Deposits are also free.
Opay
It is a mobile money payment service in Nigeria that lets anyone pay bills, transfer and receive money, access loans as well as easily save on its app. The company claims it processes over 60% of the mobile money transactions in Nigeria.
Terrapay
Terra pay is a licensed digital payment infrastructure and solution provider. The company manipulates technology to enable business and individuals globally to send and receive money.
They are headquartered in Netherlands but operate and have outlets in Nigeria.
Piggyvest
Piggyvest started out as an online savings platform in Nigeria. But has since added investment products to its suite of products. Piggyvest currently helps around 2 million Nigerians save and invest from their smartphones.
About Olatorera Consultancy (OC)
Olatorera Consultancy is a modernistic venture combining deeply-rooted knowledge on Africa’s culture and challenges plus close relationships with topmost leaders to promote development. We provide consultancy, business development and advisory services to notable companies and high net-worth individuals. OC also publishes news and progressive content daily of high interest to the public and to Africa’s development.
