With ever-increasing globalization and technological advancements, making internet transactions rather than the conventional method is currently a popular fad. FINTECH businesses are now competing with conventional financial systems in the delivery of financial services whereby societies that were cash-driven are now evolving into a digital money economy.
Looking at the business world of today and how greatly innovative ideas are popping up increasingly, fintech, integration of technology that seeks to advance the use and delivery of financial services, has been financially good to the world at large and Nigeria is no exception.
Etymologically, the term fintech, when it emerged in the 21st century, was initially applied to the technology used at the back-end systems of inverted financial institutions like banks, including activities such as international money transfer. But there has been a shift to more consumer-oriented services and thus, a more consumer-oriented definition. Fintech is now included in different sectors and industries such as retail banking, fundraising and nonprofit, financial education, investment management, etc.
The word FINTECH is short for Financial Technology and it is used to refer to companies whose chief intent is to provide financial solutions by tackling financial problems within the Nigerian society. They deal with anything and everything from mobile banking and peer-to-peer payments to distributed ledger technologies and digital currencies.
The space Fintech possesses in Nigeria has been increasingly going wide as a plethora of Fintech companies is being created with an endless note. Thus, creating a ground for competitions. However, there are few which possess a lot of recognition on and offshore of the country.
Below are some top financial technology companies in Nigeria:
FLUTTER WAVE
This financial technology company was created in 2016 by Andela, co-founded by Iyin Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola and headquartered in San Francisco, USA. The company’s most important objective is to make any type of payment simple and easy with infinite possibilities for businesses around the world. Their vision is to make any type of payment acceptable anywhere from across Africa and all over the world.
This company has made it a lot easier for clients of different countries to shop on any online store or do any online transaction without having to be restricted to the payment method. One significant thing this company has attracted to the sphere of financial technology is its fast and easy means of payment and transaction, with more than 150 pecuniary standards, on any online platform no matter where the client is in the world.
PAGA
This mobile-based platform was founded in Nigeria by Tayo Oviosu in 2009 and was publicly inaugurated in 2011. It was introduced to create a method whereby financial services are available to all. It uses a combination of both the banking and telecommunication sector to aid its services. Clients are able to do a lot, such as deposit money, pay utility and cable bills and make payments to marketers through Paga.
This financial technology company has various channels across the country and their agents serve as “human ATMs” for their clients. The reason Paga was launched was to gain from the build-up of money in the financial industry and to execute financial services for all residents in Africa.
INTERSWITCH
This renowned payment processing company has its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. The Fintech company is owned by Mitchell Elegbe who studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Benin. He’s a multi-awarded personality. Interswitch came into existence in 2002 to help with the flow of money through a computerized system. The company also has its focus on helping the trade of values between organizations and persons.
Interswitch, in large part, has greatly helped the individuals and companies in the information and financial technology services.
The company majorly exists to provide its clients with advisory services in the areas of online transactions, online business, and online payments. Interswitch is a well-accomplished fintech company in Africa.
REMITA
Remita was developed by SystemSpecs; a company headquartered in Lagos, with its foremost services of providing innovative payment methods and the management of Human Capital.
Remita was unfolded to aid online transactions, collections, payments, and businesses in a much easier and convenient way. Many Nigerian commercial banks and microfinance banks make use of Remita in their day to day payments for easy and reliable transactions.
Remita is undoubtedly one of the leading fintech companies in Nigeria. The platform is being recognized by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Central Bank adopts the use of Remita for their collections of funds for Treasury Single Account (TSA) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
ETRANZACT
This fintech company was launched in 2003 for the advancement of e-transactions and payments. It is a leading payment processing in Nigeria and it is renowned for its multifunctional services. Etranzact is a multi-network and multi-channel application that corroborates many electronic payment platforms like Master Card, Viva, and so on.
The major aim of Etranzact as an electronic payment processing platform is to automate customers’ payment arrangements made through their platform. It offers relatable services to its customers. And it also ensures safe, simple, and direct transactions in their payment enablement. Over the years of its existence, it has been able to stand out among its equal.
OPAY
Opay is an exceptional financial technology company. It renders services beyond just online payments. Opay has positively intervened in many day-to-day activities of plethora numbers of people. Opay was launched to create a more convenient and comfortable world. It is an advanced mobile-based platform for online payments, transportation, and delivery of goods, especially foods and groceries.
Users of Opay get the chance to move from one place to another at lower prices. Also, they use Opay application to make money transactions, airtime transfers, payments of bills, and making order of food and groceries.
It is the belief of the founder that nobody should be denied access to living a comfortable life. Opay was established to make transactions, transportation, and delivery easy for those who mostly live in restricted and abandoned areas.
PIGGYVEST
Piggyvest was formerly known as Piggybank.ng. The main function of the Piggyvest is to saving of some amounts of money by Nigerian holding Debit Cards. They allow people to save a little amount of money with them daily, weekly, monthly, and make the withdrawal free for them on the day which they must have given as their withdrawal date. Their objective is to make their customers save without attempting a withdrawal.
This organization was founded on Feb 16, 2016, by 5 individuals, who are; Ayo Akinola, Joshua Chibueze, Nonso Eagle, Somto Ifezue, and Odunayo Eweniyi.
The money-saving system is being insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to ensure the safety of its customers’ money, in case the system breaks down unexpectedly.
Piggyvest has tremendously helped many Nigerians to alleviate poverty in one way or the other. It’s a great and relevant system.
CARBON
Carbon is a loan app in Nigeria. Many Nigerians have been surviving on loan acquisitions and other related means which have subsequently made all these loan apps popular and recognized. People see them as their Messiah. So, Carbon is one of these apps. It grants loans to its customers with an easy, paperless, and quick process.
Carbon was formerly called Paylater. It is being owned by One Finance Limited, a Nigerian money lending platform. It was built for people to borrow money easily and allow them to pay later just as it implied in its former name (Paylater).
PAYSTACK
This fintech was launched in 2016. It was founded by Shola Akinlade and co-founded by Ezra Olubi. The idea of founding paystack was to enable businesses to complete payments from clients making use of payment options such as MasterCard, Visa, and Verve cards anywhere on Earth. It is a payment platform that makes the payment process consistent for both the consumers and the businesses that are attempting to pay without any disturbance.
Paystack has allowed the use of foreign currencies from clients abroad, wherever they are in the world. Payments are also accepted from internationally-issued cards that are in USD and can also help the client get settled in USD.
FAIRMONEY
FairMoney was founded in 2017. It is a certified mobile banking platform that offers instant financial loans and bill payments for private and business borrowers. Additionally, it makes use of phone data to build an instantaneous credit-score from which loans are awarded. It has a team of 45 people spread across Paris, France, and Lagos, Nigeria and over the years, more than 350,000 loans have been disbursed.
The distinctive thing that makes this online loan provider different from others is its speed of delivery. A loan can be obtained instantly and there are no hidden charges. This fintech has been ranked among the top Fintechs in Nigeria.
LIDYA
Lidya, which was founded in November 2016, is a financial services platform that has increased access to credit and finance across frontier and emerging markets especially in Nigeria. The founders of this fintech are Tunde Kehinde and Ercin Eskin. Their primary goal was to help extraordinary entrepreneurs access funding and develop a credit score through their instant loan app. They created dashboards and tools to help businesses manage their receivables and cash flow to build credit scores that unlock higher credit limits and affordable rates.
It makes use of mobile-first technology with a strong customer experience and proprietary credit scoring algorithms to help small and medium businesses open an account online within a quarter minute, manage funds, and access credit needed to grow their businesses and prepare their futures.
CHIPPER CASH
Chipper cash is a financial service firm that features a software application that makes it possible for clients to send and receive money to and from any client within coverage areas at no cost. Its founders are Serunjogi from Uganda and Maijid Moujaled from Ghana; both of whom emigrated to the U.S. to study and work in Silicon Valley. It was launched in 2017 with its headquarters in San Francisco, California.
It is available in only six countries which are Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Nigeria and transactions can be made to any of these countries for free and easily. The interface has been made quite easy to use.
KUDA BANK
This Fintech company was formerly known as Kudi Money. It rebranded to Kuda Bank after it was granted a license by the Central Bank of Nigeria giving it a distinction compared to other fintech startups. It was founded by Babatunde Ogundeyi in 2017. It is designed to get rid of ridiculous charges and it is great for helping clients budget, spend smartly, and save more. It is specifically designed for use on smartphones with its chatbot to help clients send money and pay bills. They realized that many people cannot access financial services across Nigeria and they decided to help.
Kuda is a Lagos and London-based company and it recently launched the beta version of its online mobile finance platform. Its services include checking accounts with no monthly fees, a free debit card, and plans to offer consumer savings.
In Africa most especially, 90% of all transactions are still cash-based, particularly in Nigeria. Due to the large informal workforce, 80% of the population are still paid in cash, but with digital solutions growing, most products don’t address the ordinary size of these figures and the true importance of cash in Africa. However, Kudi and its ever-growing agent network make digital payments compelling and easy for everyone to use.
Conclusion
The rate at which innovative ideas, most especially in the realm of technology, is envisioned is quite encouraging and the prospects at which every individual is stuck can’t be overemphasized as civilization is moving us to exceptionally greater places. However, I further hope that the purposes of these innovative ideas, especially fintech, do not turn to be the opposite as the level of technological fraud in and out of the country, Nigeria, is nothing to write home about.
Hey there!
Ibrahim Clouds, here.
I am a blogwriter, a copywriter, a keyword researcher, and a product reviewer. On the side of creating website contents and outreaches for businesses online, I blog about sports, business, entertainment, pets, education, and betting on my blogsite, Henrisoul.com. Whenever I am not writing or blogging, I am either sitting in a lotus pose meditating like a real Tibetan monk or trying to make a balance between sanity and insanity. If you don’t find me doing any of those, call the police, please. I might just have been kidnapped.