The new office represents a continued investment in PalmPay’s people, operations, and infrastructure, supporting the company’s ability to deliver reliable financial services at scale.

Designed to accommodate PalmPay’s growing team, the workspace enables closer cross-functional collaboration while strengthening service delivery nationwide.

Located in Yaba, one of Lagos’s most established commercial and technology corridors, the office further anchors PalmPay within Nigeria’s innovation and financial ecosystem.

Speaking at the office launch, Mr. Chika Nwosu, managing director, highlighted that the new workspace reflects PalmPay’s long-term vision and dedication to excellence.

“This new office represents an important step in our growth journey and our commitment to building secure, reliable, and inclusive financial solutions for our users,” he said.

The launch event was attended by PalmPay’s leadership team, employees and customers, who toured the facility and marked the company’s continued growth and progress.

With the opening of its office at 33 Old Yaba Road, PalmPay continues to strengthen its presence in Nigeria and reaffirm its mission to drive financial inclusion through innovative digital solutions.

PalmPay is a leading digital banking platform driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved emerging markets.

Through its secure, user-friendly, and inclusive suite of financial services, PalmPay empowers individuals and businesses with tools to manage and grow their money.

PalmPay offers a comprehensive range of products, including mobile payments, savings, and micro-insurance via its app and mobile money agent network.

Since launching in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator license, the platform has grown to over 35 million app users and processes up to 15 million transactions daily.

PalmPay has operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. For more information, visit www.palmpay.com

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Trillions of naira move through these platforms every year, but are we as Nigerians truly the owners of this digital revolution, or are we simply feeding the machine?

The numbers look commendable, as mobile money operators, led by OPay, PalmPay, and others, processed over ₦71.5 trillion in 2024, up from ₦46.6 trillion the previous year. That’s a 53% surge in digital transactions in a single year. 

The total volume of transactions rose from 3 billion to nearly 4 billion, while Nigeria’s e-payment ecosystem crossed the mind-bending threshold of ₦1.07 quadrillion. Flutterwave, PalmPay, and OPay together are worth more than $6 billion. 

Moniepoint alone serves over 10 million customers, processing more than a billion transactions monthly. These platforms have become the arteries of Nigeria’s economy.

But look past the numbers and we see a worrisome picture. Most of these platforms are not Nigerian-owned, at least not in the full sense. They are backed, funded, and in many cases controlled by foreign investors who are ultimately the biggest beneficiaries of the profits. 

Nigerians generate the volume, carry the risks, and pay the fees, but the value extracted rarely stays here. Even Paystack, once a poster child of local innovation, now sits under Stripe, an American company.

The experience for everyday users is not always rosy either. High transfer fees eat into income, hidden charges appear without explanation, and platforms monetise data without ever asking for consent. In April 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) froze new customer onboarding for OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint over issues about compliance. 

Millions of users were instantly locked out, not because they did anything wrong, but because regulators and platforms were at war. That moment exposed a painful truth: Nigerians are passengers, not drivers, in this so-called digital economy.

The story is not limited to payments. Ride-hailing and e-commerce also have their part. Bolt is one of Nigeria’s leading transport apps, while Jumia has over four million active customers across West Africa, with Nigeria as its biggest market. 

But again, ownership sits elsewhere. These platforms dominate mobility and retail in Nigeria, yet the wealth created flows outward. Nigerians keep the ecosystem alive, the drivers, riders, buyers, and sellers, but who really profits at the end of the day?

So we circle back to the question: who owns Nigeria’s digital economy? Is it the millions of people who log in every day, building the data, trust, and traffic that keep these platforms alive? Or is it the platforms themselves, backed by capital far beyond Nigeria’s borders? 

On one hand, Nigerians are enjoying convenience, speed, and access like never before. On the other hand, we might be building wealth we’ll never truly share in, trapped in a cycle of dependency where platforms set the rules and people have little choice but to comply.

And that’s where the conversation must begin. Are we content to be consumers, or should we be demanding true participation and ownership? Should regulators create space for real local authorities, or will foreign-backed platforms continue to dictate the terms? 

Until those questions are answered, Nigeria’s digital economy will remain a paradox, built by Nigerians, but not necessarily for Nigerians.

The post Who Really Owns Nigeria’s Digital Economy — The People or the Platforms? appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This integration with Zone’s regulated blockchain network for payment enables PalmPay to fortify its payment capabilities, ensuring reliable, secure, and compliant transactions across its extensive network of 1,200,000 agents and merchants.

By joining Zone’s regulated blockchain network, PalmPay is positioned to redefine the payment experience for its over 35 million users, delivering superior capabilities that set a new standard for point of sale payments and a new benchmark for the payment industry as a whole.

The partnership empowers PalmPay to streamline its operations, eliminate points of failure and provide its customers with the assurance of fast and frictionless payments.

Obi Emetarom, co-founder and CEO of Zone, remarked on the partnership:

“We are thrilled to welcome PalmPay to our payment network. Their hugely successful approach of becoming a market leader by delivering superior payment experiences aligns nicely with Zone’s focus on providing a reliable, and frictionless yet secure and compliant payment network. With our infrastructure, PalmPay is set to boost its value proposition to its customers and expand its lead in the market.”

With over 35 million users, PalmPay is committed to consistently enhancing the quality of its payment services.

By integrating with Zone’s regulated blockchain network, PalmPay automatically gains key advantages that set it apart in the industry.

These advantages include:

1. Direct Transaction Routing: Zone’s network eliminates the need for intermediaries, eliminating unnecessary points of failure and allowing for more reliable and secure transaction processing.

This ensures that PalmPay’s users experience uninterrupted transactions along with a seamless payment journey that meets the demands of a rapidly growing customer base.

2. End-to-End Transparency: Zone’s infrastructure offers full transaction visibility, supporting automatic reconciliation that effectively eliminates chargebacks and protects against chargeback fraud.

For PalmPay, this means a more secure and trustworthy system for its users, who can transact with greater confidence knowing that their payments are protected from potential disputes and fraud.

3. Same-Day Settlement: With Zone’s same-day settlement capabilities, PalmPay can deliver quicker value from successful transactions directly to its customers.

This expedited settlement process unlocks liquidity, as customers benefit from faster access to their funds, solidifying PalmPay’s reputation for efficiency and reliability.

In addition, PalmPay will remain fully compliant with regulatory guidelines for POS transaction processing. This compliance is enabled by the recent partnership between Zone and NIBSS to perform PTSA functions using blockchain technology and reinforced by CBN’s endorsement of the new arrangement —

With this foundation, PalmPay strengthens its commitment to reliable and frictionless payments while remaining fully compliant with all relevant regulations.

This move is a natural progression in PalmPay’s journey as it continues to solidify its leadership and prepare for an ambitious phase of growth.

By integrating with Zone’s network, PalmPay gains a powerful competitive edge, positioning itself at the forefront of the industry and setting the stage for the next wave of expansion.

Forward-thinking decisions like these have fueled PalmPay’s remarkable rise, and integrating with Zone further strengthens its commitment to staying ahead; leading the way in reliable, and compliant payments for millions across Africa.

“Our partnership with Zone marks an exciting step in our mission to deliver exceptional financial solutions. By leveraging Zone’s blockchain-powered infrastructure, we’re reinforcing the reliability and speed of our transactions success rate of 99.5%, allowing us to better serve our customers and set a new standard in digital finance.”

The post PalmPay Joins Zone’s Regulated Blockchain Network to Enhance Payment Reliability appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Since the introduction of the directive last December, PalmPay has launched a new onboarding flow on the app which mandates all Tier 1 users to validate their NIN or BVN.

Failure to do so means that the user would not be able to complete their registration on the wallet.

All existing users must also validate their BVN or NIN as follows:

1. Existing users who have validated their NIN or BVN previously must revalidate their KYC information by January 31, 2024.
2. Existing users who have not yet validated their NIN or BVN must do so by March 31, 2024.

Defaulting wallets will be frozen by January 31 and March 31, 2024 respectively.

According to Chika Nwosu, PalmPay Nigeria managing director, “We are committed to doing our part to foster a secure financial ecosystem. We urge all PalmPay users to update their KYC information on the app as soon as possible in order to ensure smooth continuation of service for their wallets.”

The company has introduced an incentive payment of up to N500 for users who get ahead of the deadline and validate their information. Also, support operations have been beefed up to help its customers through the process.

PalmPay customers can contact customer support via phone number on 01-8886888, email via support@palmpay.com and by visiting any of the fintech’s 36 state offices across Nigeria, the addresses for which can be found on https://h5.palmpay.app/lego-h5/index?id=marketing-activities/agent-service-office.

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