A new report has shown that Chinese-owned fintech apps Opay and Palmpay are the most downloaded digital banks in Nigeria in 2023, thanks to the cash crunch and failure of traditional banks.
In the report compiled by Similar Web, a web analytics company, both apps became the main alternative to bank apps for money transfers and bill payments during the cash crunch. These apps were reported to be mostly used by vendors and businesses to send and receive money due to the seamless transaction it offers to users.
A large percentage of users disclosed that by using these Fintechs platforms, they do not have to worry about network issues as both apps are always available 24/7. Opay and Palmpay have been lauded for offering relief to Nigerians, especially at a time of unprecedented transaction failure.
It is interesting to note that both Fintechs are licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), insured by the NDIC, and trusted by millions of users. Last week, Opay expressed appreciation to millions of users for increased usage of the platform in the last three months. The payment and financial service company disclosed that its customer base crossed over 30 million registered app users, as well as 500,000 agents and 100,000 merchants.
Investors King understands that the naira redesign by the CBN which led to cash shortage in the country, prompted a huge percentage of the Nigerian population to resort to the use of mobile bank apps for transfers. Unfortunately, the increased reliance on banking apps and USSD platforms negatively impacted bank performance, and put a strain on the already unsteady infrastructure of digital banking. This saw bank transfers often take longer than usual and failed transactions take up to five days or more to be resolved.
This prompted customers who did not hesitate to resort to the use of Fintechs which they revealed was more reliable than bank apps. Meanwhile, the transaction glitches experienced by bank customers have no doubt benefitted several fintech platforms, which had tough times wooing customers before the recent cash crunch that saw them gain a significant amount of users.
These platforms have been able to wrap themselves around the fabric of society and have been massively adopted as reliable alternatives to the epileptic services rendered by conventional banks.