PalmPay
PalmPay is a Nigeria-founded digital banking platform serving 40 million users and 1 million+ merchants across 7 African and Asian countries with free transfers, high-yield savings, credit, POS, and smartphone financing services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What PalmPay does
PalmPay is a Nigeria-founded, multi-country digital banking and payments platform serving 40 million users and over 1 million merchants across Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The company operates a full-stack fintech ecosystem built on proprietary payment rails with a reported 99.95% transaction success rate and near-instant settlement (within 10 seconds). Core products include the PalmPay consumer app offering unlimited free transfers, savings accounts yielding up to 20% interest paid daily, credit/loans originated through wholly-owned subsidiary Flexi Microfinance Bank Limited, bill payment processing with cashback rewards, and a debit card. Business services encompass POS terminals, Payin/Payout APIs, Pay with Transfer accounts, and business account management. The platform is extended through smartphone installment financing (600,000+ devices sold, with PalmPay pre-installed on devices from Transsion brands Tecno, Infinix, and itel), a health insurance partnership with AXA Mansard, and an embedded healthcare integration with WellaHealth.
PalmPay's underlying technology stack combines AI-powered fraud detection with real-time transaction monitoring, alternative-data credit scoring that enables lending to first-time borrowers (57% of users receive their first loan via PalmPay), biometric and facial verification, and USSD-based access for feature phone users. The platform is distributed through 28 physical offices in Nigeria, an extensive mobile money agent network, hundreds of dealer partners for device financing, and digital self-serve via iOS and Android apps. Multi-jurisdictional licensing covers CBN (Nigeria), BOT (Tanzania), SECP (Pakistan), UMRA (Uganda), SEC (Philippines), and Bangladesh ITES recognition, with PCI DSS and ISO 27001 compliance for security.
Revenue is generated through a diversified mix: transaction fees on POS and business payments, interest income from lending and savings, commissions on bill payments and insurance distribution, and hardware-related revenue from device financing. The customer base spans underserved individuals (25% first-time bank account holders), SMBs and merchants, microfinance institutions (in Bangladesh), and first-time smartphone buyers. Strategic investors include Transsion Holdings, GIC (Singapore's sovereign wealth fund), and the African Development Bank. The company raised a $53 million Series B in January 2025 and was ranked Africa's #1 fastest-growing fintech by Financial Times/Statista in 2025.
PalmPay firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PalmPay
- Legal name
- PalmPay Limited
- Website
- https://palmpay.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- PalmPay is a Nigeria-founded digital banking platform serving 40 million users and 1 million+ merchants across 7 African and Asian countries with free transfers, high-yield savings, credit, POS, and smartphone financing services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PalmPay industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Banking
- NAICS
- Commercial Banking (522110), Credit Card Issuing (52221)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General-Purpose Digital Wallets (P2P + Merchant) (FSAMAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P) (FSAGAAAF), Embedded Deposit Accounts & Digital Wallet Infrastructure (FSAGALAE), Cards & Issuing Management (Debit/Prepaid/Credit, Program Management) (FSAGAAAE)
Keywords
Where PalmPay is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lagos
- HQ country
- Nigeria
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices8 records
Markets served
PalmPay business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees (POS and Business): PalmPay generates revenue from transaction fees charged on POS terminal transactions and business payments. Industry data shows transaction values reaching N10.5 trillion in Q1 2025 in Nigeria's PoS market.
- Credit/Loan Services: Loan services provided through Flexi Microfinance Bank Limited enable PalmPay to earn interest income from lending. The platform reports 57% of users as first-time loan recipients.
- Savings and Interest Income: PalmPay offers savings accounts with up to 20% interest rates, earning spread income from lending activities funded by customer deposits.
- Bill Payment Commissions: Commission income from processing bill payments for airtime, electricity, cable TV, and other services, with cashback rewards for users.
- Device Financing: Smartphone financing in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Uganda through installment plans, generating revenue from financed devices sold over time.
- Insurance Partnership Revenue: Partnership with AXA Mansard Health provides affordable digital health insurance starting at N500 per month, with PalmPay earning commissions on insurance products sold through its platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Transfers - Personal Banking |
| Subscription | Daily | Savings Interest Rate |
| Subscription | Monthly | Health Insurance via AXA Mansard |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | POS Terminal Services |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Business Account Services |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels9 records
PalmPay product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PalmPay is a full-stack digital bank and fintech platform offering a mobile banking app with free transfers, high-yield savings (up to 20% interest), credit/loans, bill payments with cashback, and a debit card. For merchants and businesses it provides POS terminals, Payin/Payout APIs, and business account management. The platform also distributes smartphones on installment financing with the PalmPay app pre-installed, sells digital health insurance in partnership with AXA Mansard, and offers embedded finance APIs to financial institutions.
Product overview
PalmPay is a full-stack digital neobank and fintech platform offering a comprehensive financial ecosystem across Africa and Asia. The core product is the PalmPay Consumer App providing mobile banking services including free transfers, savings (up to 20% interest), credit/loans, bill payments with cashback, and a debit card. For businesses, PalmPay offers an integrated suite including POS terminals, Payin/Payout services, Pay with Transfer accounts, and Business Account management. The platform also extends access through smartphone financing programs (selling 1+ million devices annually), health insurance partnerships (AXA Mansard), and a mobile money agent network. All services are supported by proprietary technology including payment rails (99.95% success rate), AI-powered fraud detection, and credit-scoring models using alternative data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PalmPay for Business: All-in-one payments, banking and operations platform for businesses, including POS terminals, payin/payout services, and business account management.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40 million users served across Africa and Asia markets
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use PalmPay
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
PalmPay technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability6 records
Feature6 records
PalmPay partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.
- Wema BankcorePalmPay and Wema Bank executed Nigeria's first live transaction on the National Payment Stack (NPS), a scalable and secure payment infrastructure built to unify and modernize Nigeria's payment systems. Transaction was completed instantly, signaling the beginning of a new era in Nigeria's digital payment ecosystem.
- AXA Mansard HealthcorePartnership to provide affordable digital health insurance to PalmPay users starting at N500 per month. Services include telemedicine consultations, medication coverage up to N5,000, surgical coverage up to N40,000, unlimited diagnostic tests, and accident death cover. AXA Mansard covers over 1.8 million Nigerians.
- JumiastrategicShop Smart, Earn Big! Black Friday campaign partnership (November 7 - December 1, 2025), rewarding shoppers with cashback when paying via PalmPay on Jumia platform. Cashback amounts based on spending thresholds, applicable to first 300 shoppers each day.
- Nigerian Police Force Cybercrime CentreminorPalmPay participated in Nigeria's Cybersecurity Awareness Month by supporting the Nigeria Police Force's Cybercrime Centre event in Abuja, focusing on cybersecurity and fraud prevention. Company emphasized commitment to digital safety and consumer protection.
- Nigerian Cybersecurity Unit and Nigerian Data Protection CommissionminorPartnerships with Nigerian Cybersecurity Unit and Nigerian Data Protection Commission to strengthen fraud investigation and data governance capabilities, countering increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
- United Bank for Africa (UBA)strategicPalmPay participated in UBA's inaugural Fintech Conference in Lagos, bringing together over 20 fintechs and ecosystem stakeholders including OPay, PayAza, Mastercard, Visa, NIBSS, and CBN representatives to discuss bank-fintech collaboration, regulation, innovation, and payments evolution across Africa.
- Office of the Vice-President of Nigeria / ODI GlobalstrategicFederal Government partnership through the Office of the Vice-President in collaboration with ODI Global to launch the 'Cross-Border Digital Payments and Identity in Nigeria under the AfCFTA' report. PalmPay identified as key driver for adoption of cross-border digital payments with the largest and most active user bases.
- Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS)strategicGovernment report identifies PAPSS as critical platform for cross-border payments, with PalmPay positioned as a key driver for adoption across Nigeria and Africa under the AfCFTA framework.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
PalmPay competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OPay: OPay is a direct competitor to PalmPay, offering mobile payments, consumer banking, merchant POS, and ride-hailing across Nigeria and other African markets. Both target the same unbanked/underbanked segments with free transfers, savings, and merchant services in intense head-to-head competition.
- Moniepoint: Moniepoint is one of Nigeria's largest POS and merchant acquirers, directly competing with PalmPay in the merchant payments and business banking space. Both companies are major operators in Nigeria's PoS market, competing on transaction fees, success rates, and merchant support.
- Kuda Bank: Kuda is a Nigerian digital-only bank offering consumer banking, free transfers, savings, and credit. Kuda and PalmPay compete directly for the same first-time and underbanked Nigerian consumers, and both were subject to the same 2024 CBN onboarding restrictions.
- MTN MoMo: MTN MoMo is a mobile money platform operated by MTN Group across multiple African markets, offering payments, savings, and merchant services. As a telecom-backed super-app, it competes with PalmPay for the same unbanked users across Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and other overlapping markets.
- Wave Mobile Money: Wave is a mobile money platform serving Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and other West African markets with low-fee P2P transfers. It competes with PalmPay's core model of low-cost digital payments for the unbanked, and is comparable as a high-growth emerging-market mobile money operator.
Broad incumbents
- M-Pesa (Safaricom/Vodacom): M-Pesa is the dominant mobile money platform in East Africa and an increasingly active player across the continent. While PalmPay does not directly compete in Kenya, M-Pesa's expansion into PalmPay's markets (Tanzania, Uganda) makes it a key competitive and benchmarking comparable.
Regional players
- Flutterwave: Flutterwave is a major African payments infrastructure company offering merchant payment processing, cross-border payments, and APIs. While more enterprise-focused than PalmPay, it competes in the same Nigeria-centric fintech ecosystem and shares strategic positioning as a pan-African payment platform.
- Paystack: Paystack is a Nigerian payment gateway (owned by Stripe) providing online merchant payment processing. While it focuses on online/merchant acquiring rather than consumer wallets, it competes for the same Nigerian digital payments market and customer pool that PalmPay serves.
Emerging players
- TymeBank: TymeBank is a digital bank serving South Africa and Southeast Asia (Philippines) targeting underbanked consumers. Comparable to PalmPay in its digital-only, retail-focused approach, although it operates in different geographies with similar financial-inclusion thesis.
- FairMoney: FairMoney is a Nigerian digital lender and microfinance provider offering consumer credit and savings via mobile app. It competes with PalmPay in the consumer credit and savings space, particularly for the same underbanked, first-time-borrower segment in Nigeria.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PalmPay social profiles
Digital presencePalmPay compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
PalmPay financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PalmPay leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
PalmPay subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
PalmPay funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PalmPay M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PalmPay
What does PalmPay do?
PalmPay is a full-stack digital bank and fintech platform offering a mobile banking app with free transfers, high-yield savings (up to 20% interest), credit/loans, bill payments with cashback, and a debit card. For merchants and businesses it provides POS terminals, Payin/Payout APIs, and business account management. The platform also distributes smartphones on installment financing with the PalmPay app pre-installed, sells digital health insurance in partnership with AXA Mansard, and offers embedded finance APIs to financial institutions.
Is PalmPay a public or private company?
PalmPay is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was PalmPay founded?
PalmPay was founded in 2019. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is PalmPay based?
PalmPay is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, in the Africa region.
How does PalmPay make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees (POS and Business) is the primary driver. The others are credit/Loan Services, savings and Interest Income, bill Payment Commissions, device Financing and insurance Partnership Revenue.
Who are PalmPay's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OPay, Moniepoint, Kuda Bank, MTN MoMo and Wave Mobile Money. M-Pesa (Safaricom/Vodacom) is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Flutterwave and Paystack. Emerging players are TymeBank and FairMoney.
Does PalmPay have an API?
Yes. PalmPay offers APIs supporting collections, payouts, and embedded finance via bank, wallet, card, and mobile money rails. The APIs enable local collections and payouts with T+1 (or faster) settlement and high success rates. Developers can access payment APIs for Payin (single platform to accept payments), Payout (real-time payouts), Pay with Transfer (open Transfer Account in minutes), and Business Account management. Documentation is available at the developer portal. Developer documentation is at palmpay.com/business/palmPay.
What industry is PalmPay in?
PalmPay's product category is Digital Banking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAEAA, General-Purpose Digital Wallets (P2P + Merchant), with a secondary code of FSAGAAAF, Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P). Its NAICS code is 522110 and its SIC code is 6199.