Payment startup PalmPay has announced its expansion to Nigeria where it is expected to lock horns with strong competitors. It is however well-positioned considering its recent $40 million seed round led by Chinese mobile-phone maker Transsion.
Prior to entering the Nigerian market, PalmPay was operating in Ghana. There are also indications that it would also launch in Tanzania, making it a pan-African payment startup.
The startup has reportedly been piloting its service in Lagos, Nigeria since July but officially rolled out its operations today and aims to become Africa’s largest financial services platform.
Tecno is owned by Transsion which also owns Infinix and Itel. These three brands are dominant in Africa and are offering PalmPay access to more customers by preinstalling the app on 20 million phones in 2020.
PalmPay was reportedly founded with Chinese seed investment. It offers a package of mobile-based financial services, including no-fee payment options, bill pay, rewards programs, and discounted airtime.
To gain more traction in the Nigerian market, PalmPay is offering 10% cashback on airtime purchases and bank transfer rates as low as 10 Naira ($.02).
“In addition to Nigeria, PalmPay will use the $40 million seed funding to grow its financial services business in Ghana. The payments startup has plans to expand to additional countries in 2020,” said PalmPay CEO Greg Reeve.
