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  In the past, you had to pay for most purchases by handing hard currency to sellers. These days, more vendors are accepting digital payments for the goods and services they provide. Thanks to mobile technology, we are doing less with cash, and transacting via electronic means instead. Over the past decade, many mobile money solutions have emerged to meet Nigeria’s growing demand for cashless transactions. They’re enabling people to buy items, pay bills, transfer funds, and hold money using their mobile phones.
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As may be expected, a handful of mobile money platforms (or ‘mobile wallets’) attract the majority of users of this technology. They dominate this market partly because they’re able to offer services superior to what their counterparts present. Here we talk about the top ten of these leading mobile money apps in Nigeria.

OPay

Produced by the tech company Opera, OPay allows its users to pay bills and make bank transfers on their mobile phones. With it, they can fund their digital wallet, transfer funds to friends, and pay for things like airtime and electricity bills. Users who save their money on Opay may get up to 10% interest on their savings per annum. They can also take out loans of between ₦3,000 and ₦500,000, with tenure ranging from 3 months to one year.

Paga

Paga can be used to pay for airtime, electricity, cable TV subscription, airline ticket, visa fees, groceries, and a host of other things. With it, you can also send money to email addresses, phone numbers, or bank accounts. If you need money, you may send a request for funds via the platform to the person from who you need it. The company has expanded significantly since its establishment in 2009. It now serves thousands of businesses and over 15 million unique users. Paga also has thousands of agents in various parts of Nigeria.

KongaPay

KongaPay allows you to send and receive money instantly, and pay for things like airtime and TV subscription. There are no charges on transactions carried out with it. The platform appears secure, in part because its partnership with banks removes the need for third parties in payments processing. You can also shop with KongaPay at physical stores, using the QR Code you generate from it.

Kudi

The Kudi app is used by thousands of Kudi agents across Nigeria to process payments for their customers. Anyone interested in becoming a Kudi agent can download the Kudi app, sign up with the platform, and begin using it to facilitate transactions for people in their communities.
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Services available on Kudi include money transfers, cash withdrawals, electricity bill payments, mobile airtime top-ups, and TV subscription payments. The app enables agents to meet these needs for their customers.

MoMo

Here’s another app tailored for use by agents. MoMo—short for MTN Mobile Money –is run by the largest telecoms service provider in Nigeria. MTN has leveraged its reach to scale the adoption of this mobile money solution in all 774 local governments in the country. People use MoMo to send and receive money from anywhere in Nigeria. Many MoMo agents are also retailers, so their customers can pay them for products purchased via the MoMo channel.

Firstmonie

The Firstmonie Wallet is powered by First Bank. It’s one of the many ways in which traditional banks are trying to compete with fintech companies. Users of the Firstmonie Wallet can send money from it to any mobile phone number or bank account, and receive money through transfers from banks and other wallets. They can also pay utility bills, top-up airtime, renew subscriptions, and pay for products at Firstmonie merchant stores.

PalmPay

In many ways, PalmPay functions just like any other mobile money app. It’s used to send and receive money, and to pay for airtime and bills. But there’s more. PalmPay pays its users 15% of whatever they spend on airtime purchases and 3% on bill payments. There is also regular promo offers to take advantage of. And if you invite your friends to use the app, you get ₦300 in PalmPoints, which you can redeem as discounts for airtime purchases and bill payments.

JumiaPay

JumiaPay (formerly JumiaOne) covers a lot of ground with its offerings. It lets you buy airtime, data, and event tickets, make toll gate payments, book rides, make hotel reservations, and pay utility bills. Airtime and mobile data recharges come with a 3% cashback. There are also no fees attached to paying data subscription and electricity bills. If you shop at Jumia’s online store, you can pay for the items you order with JumiaPay.

Quickteller

The Quickteller app is designed by Interswitch, one of Nigeria’s oldest and biggest fintech companies. The app caters to payments for electricity, local and international airtime top-up, cable TV and internet subscription, flight tickets, among others. It can also be used to send money to friends and family.

Wallets Africa

Wallets Africa facilitates several basic banking transactions. It provides its users with account numbers, physical naira and virtual dollar cards for local and international transactions, the ability to transfer funds to selected African countries, and functions for requesting and sending money. They can also buy airtime and pay bills with it.

Final Words

Mobile money apps are transforming our relationship with money. And as more people hop on the digital train, we’re bound to see increased adoption of these technologies. That’s a good thing for people who prefer to pay for things electronically than hold bundles of cash. The apps we’ve discussed are all available for download on the Google Play store. Featured Image Source: Nairametrics
Got a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
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This article was first published on 25th February 2021

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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