Fintech has grown rapidly in Nigeria. Nigerian fintechs use technology to provide a variety of financial goods and services.
With their nimble and easy-to-use applications, fintechs have attracted users for loan, savings, investment, deposit, and transfer services. Due to the currency redesign and naira note shortage, many Nigerians now choose fintechs for fast financial transactions.
As the number of fintech businesses in Nigeria grows, potential clients have numerous options for new financial services through mobile applications, making the sector very competitive. Yet, as more Nigerians adopted fintech applications for their convenience and simple access to financial services on the move, the best ones were rewarded with more consumers and higher app downloads.
Nairametrics examined the Google Play Store downloads for major Nigerian banking applications, as the iOS App Store does not provide app downloads. Most of the applications we examined in February have already reached a million downloads.
Nigeria’s 10 most downloaded fintech applications as of June 2023:
10. Paga
Paga provides top-ups, bill payments, transfers, and remittances. The startup claims 17 million customers and a mobile money agent network for unbanked offline people. Paga has 500,000+ Google Play Store downloads in February. By June, the app had 1 million downloads.
Million-plus downloads
Rated 4.0
14,535 reviews
9. Pigvest
PiggyVest is a savings and investing tool, not a digital bank. The organisation provides fixed, flexible, goal-oriented, automated savings choices and pre-vetted low-medium risk main and secondary investment channels for 6–12 months. By June, the app has 1 million Google Play Store downloads from young Nigerian savers.
Million-plus downloads
Rated 4.0
41,000 reviews
8. Carbon
Carbon, a CBN-licensed digital bank, offers debit cards, loans, and investments. P2P, bill, and cellphone recharges are enabled. According to its website, the fintech business has over two million clients, yet its Google Play app has one million downloads.
Million-plus downloads
: 4.4
148,000 reviews
7. Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank Ltd manages OKash, a fast online lending facility for Nigerian mobile consumers. OKash provides 24/7 online financial services. The applicant’s bank account receives the loan amount after a few steps and little verification. OKash, is a licenced digital lender in Nigeria, with over 5 million downloads as of June.
5 million+ downloads
: 4.3
155,793 reviews
6. Palmcredit
Palmcredit, a Nigerian fintech app Newedge Finance Ltd operates, allows unsecured loans. As one of the most downloaded fintech applications, many Nigerians use its lending services. The app had 5 million downloads by June.
5 million+ downloads
Rated 4.0
156,000 reviews
5. JumiaPay
In 2016, Jumia launched its JumiaPay app, which accounts for over 50% of market sales. The app now offers bank-affiliated consumer loans. Jumia Pay, one of the most downloaded financial apps on the Play Store, has over 5 million downloads as of June.
5 million+ downloads
: 4.2
133,000 reviews
4. Kuda
Kuda, a digital bank, is CBN-licensed as a microfinance firm. Kuda, located in London, targets Nigeria. Kuda accounts provide free debit cards, budgeting, spending limits, transfers, and savings. The bank eliminates maintenance costs and offers a monthly list of free transactions. Around 5 million Nigerians have downloaded it.
5 million+ downloads
: 4.3
238,000 reviews
3. Palmpay
According to Google Play, the Palmpay fintech app launched in September 2018. After receiving a mobile money operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a pilot phase began in July 2019. (CBN). Nigerians got it in November 2019. Palmpay reached 10 million downloads by June from 5 million in February.
10 million+ downloads
: 4.5
478,000 reviews
2.FairMoney
Lending-focused digital bank FairMoney. The firm offers fast loans up to one million naira, bank accounts, and debit cards. FairMoney claims to distribute one loan every eight seconds, processing over 10,000 loans daily. With over 10 million Google Play Store downloads, FairMoney is a prominent app.
10 million+ downloads
: 4.3
577,000 reviews
. OPay
Opera’s Africa finance company OPay debuted its mobile money platform in Lagos in 2018. OPay’s mobile money lets customers pay utilities, transfer money, and save. Offline banking lets non-smartphone users transact.
Ten million+
: 4.4
389,000 reviews
Bottomline
Several Nigerian fintechs with applications have more downloads than bank apps. No Nigerian commercial bank has 10 million Google Play Store downloads, suggesting fintech applications are gaining popularity.
