PalmPay Eyes Regional Dominance With Expansion to Four African Markets

Nigerian fintech PalmPay is moving beyond borders. After processing 1.35 billion transactions in the first quarter of 2025—driven by a surge in daily usage—PalmPay is set to expand into South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania by year-end, bringing its footprint to six African markets.

Managing Director Chika Nwosu, speaking at a press conference in Lagos, framed the expansion as a natural progression for a company that now boasts 35 million users in Nigeria and facilitates over 15 million transactions daily. While he withheld the total transaction value, the volume points to deep market penetration in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital finance environments.

From Fintech to Financial Marketplace

PalmPay isn’t just growing—it’s transforming. What began as a mobile payments platform is now shaping into a full-fledged financial marketplace, with integrated products spanning banking, investment, insurance, and payments. In 2024 alone, the company paid out over ₦4 billion in interest to users of its wealth product, signaling strong traction in deposit-based services despite its mobile money license limitations.

The firm’s strategy hinges on partnerships. With players like Leadway Assurance and ARM, PalmPay users can invest in treasury bills and earn up to 22% annual returns, while remaining regulatory-compliant via embedded financial service layers.

“We’ve effectively built a super app that merges financial services in one place,” said Nwosu. “It’s reliable, efficient, and designed around how Africans really use money.”

Challenging Giants in Competitive Markets

PalmPay’s entry into new markets won’t be without a fight. It will compete with, MTN’s MoMo and TymeBank in South Africa. Wave, the fintech unicorn with over 70% market share in Côte d’Ivoire and MTN and Airtel in Uganda’s entrenched mobile money ecosystem.

Tanzania will see a focus on business-to-business services, although specific offerings remain under wraps.

Still, PalmPay is betting on user experience, trust, and system reliability to stand out. The company claims a 99.5% transaction success rate and user engagement averaging 50 transactions per customer per month, spanning transfers, airtime purchases, and bill payments.

Agent Networks, Cards, and National Reach

In Nigeria, PalmPay already operates across all 774 local governments and is deepening reach with offices in each of the six geopolitical zones. After launching a debit card with Verve in March, the company plans to issue over 5 million cards supported by a network of 1 million agents who serve 13 million customers monthly.

The expansion could be a precursor to a public listing—though unconfirmed, analysts say PalmPay’s scale, cross-market activity, and revenue growth make it a candidate for Africa’s next big IPO.

PalmPay’s rise reflects the broader surge in Nigeria’s digital finance space. According to NIBSS, mobile money operators processed over ₦71.5 trillion in transactions in 2024, up 53.4% from the year before. With market reforms unlocking more innovation and investment, PalmPay’s momentum is likely far from peaking.