Top Fintech Companies In Nigeria In 2023
Delivering financial services and new technologies gradually forms synergy to create Nigeria’s now-famous “financial technology.” Fintech did not exist a few years ago, or to put it another way, there was a massive technological gap in the supply of financial services. However, the financial industry operates differently now.
Before Fintech took off, there was a long chasm between the provision of financial services and the development of technology. However, Fintech is currently on practically everyone’s attention, as things in the banking sector have changed recently.
What Is Fintech?
Financial technology (Fintech) is a sector of the economy made up of numerous businesses that use cutting-edge technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of financial services.
Fintech is just a technical instrument that supports financial services and streamlines their delivery.
Fintech companies are enterprises that use software to offer financial services to the general population. These businesses are not constrained by things like obsolete operating systems, unlike the conventional banking system.
Fintech companies are quick and adaptable, capable of coming up with novel ideas, and able to collaborate with information and technology industry professionals.
Understanding Fintech In Nigeria
Over time, banking in Nigeria has developed. The competition among the many banks has led to additional advancements as they compete to provide the best services to their clients.
But if we were sincere, we’d realise that specific gaps still need to be filled. To provide consumers with the highest level of satisfaction with financial service delivery, much work still has to be done.
In Nigeria, customers in the Nigerian banking sector are underserved. For instance, fewer services are available when you travel to rural areas. Specific financial services, like loans, are unknown to people living in metropolitan areas due to banking industry regulations.
Many people in the country who utilize the financial services provided by banks are upset by the poor user experience.
Fintech companies in Nigeria are looking to fill the gaps left by these and other factors. The leading Fintech firms in Nigeria have seized the chance to create better financial tools and services for the general public.
Nigeria’s Fintech market is still developing. However, they have been successful in coming up with some original concepts that have benefited the general public. Examples include addressing the problem of rigid savings, proposing quick loan strategies and investments, and offering online payment gateway and seamless payments, among other things.
List Of Best Fintech Companies In Nigeria In 2023
The Nigerian FinTech sector currently boasts over 200 companies, even as the industry generated over $600 million in funding between 2014 and 2019.
- Mintyn Bank
- Fincra
- Leatherback
- Flutterwave
- Paystack
- Paga
- PiggyVest
- Interswitch
- Carbon Paylater
- Remita
- Accelerex
- Kuda Bank
- E-tranzact
1. Mintyn Bank
Mintyn Bank is one of the best digital banks in Nigeria with a license under the fines Microfinance Bank. This bank was established in 2020 to leverage technology in bridging the lacuna in Nigeria’s banking industry. Mintyn Bank is deposit insured by the NDIC and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
Reputed as a one-stop financial solution provider, Mintyn Bank offers its customers an array of products and services, some of which include a free business account, free current account, business registration with CAC, business investment, TIN application, and most recently, the Mintyn Marketplace feature.
With a simple step of Mintyn account creation, you can easily access all the amazing features the platform provides via its customer-friendly mobile app. Meanwhile, you can buy different gift cards on the Mintyn platform with the possibility of cashless withdrawal.
2. Fincra
Fincra, a payments infrastructure for fintech and multinational enterprises, was launched in 2021. It provides payment solutions that let businesses accept payments safely, conduct international settlements in various currencies at a fair price with no additional fees, and expand their operations across borders without incurring any further expenses.
Fincra offers a variety of cross-border payment methods for retailers. These features include that customers can make payments to businesses using virtual accounts in naira, euro, and pound in Nigeria, the UK, the US, the Eurozone, and other African countries. The money is right away deposited in the company’s Fincra wallet, and international banking doesn’t come with any extra costs or problems.
The fundamental idea behind Fincra is that Africa can dominate the world economy; as such, Fincra wants to make it simpler for African businesses and other international organisations to exchange information using an API architecture. The result is the potential for connections between African and foreign businesses and vice versa. This has enormous positive effects on African companies since it improves performance, raises productivity, and broadens the market.
3. Leatherback
Leatherback offers payment infrastructure with cross-border capabilities that enables financial institutions, fintech companies, and multinational corporations to receive payments, be settled, and send money across borders in a variety of currencies. You will be able to do business and complete transactions with customers outside the United Kingdom more swiftly and efficiently.
In this regard, Leatherback users can accept payments from all over the world, including in Africa. The platform takes costs in a variety of currencies. As a result, you are ensuring that your business may serve most countries globally. As a payment gateway for students, business owners, importers, freelancers, and other companies or individuals that want to transfer money to the United Kingdom, Leatherback supports payments from countries like Nigeria, South Africa, India, Tanzania, the United States, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, the United Arab Emirates.
4. Flutterwave
Flutterwave is most likely Africa’s largest provider of financial services, and not just in Nigeria. They also provide shops with an internet payment gateway to accept credit and debit cards. The company, on the other hand, offers a wide range of services because it is affiliated with over 40 different African banks and is currently cooperating with Paypal to allow businesses to receive payments via Paypal.
Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji launched it in 2016, and it is well known in Nigeria and other African countries. They also provide Flutterwave’s Barter, an app. It enables anyone to generate virtual credit cards and use them to make online payments on international websites.
5. Paystack
In Nigeria, Paystack Payments Limited is an internet payment gateway that makes it simpler for company owners to accept credit and debit card payments. Paystack, a well-known payment gateway in Nigeria established in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, is connected to major online retailers like Jumia and Konga. Bet9ja, Domino, and Taxify also use Paystack.
Paystack has a large workforce and is headquartered in Lagos. Paystack lets you quickly integrate their payment gateway API on your websites and be paid, even if your clients do not have credit or debit cards to make payments.
6. Paga
Paga is a Nigerian fintech company that offers customers the ability to send and receive money, make payments, and obtain loans. Paga was one of the country’s first fintech businesses and has emerged as a significant contender.
Over 10 million Nigerians utilize Paga’s services, making it one of the most well-liked fintech firms in the nation. Paga has won multiple accolades, including designation as one of Forbes Africa’s Most Promising Companies in 2013 and one of CNBC Africa’s Rising Stars in 2015.
7. PiggyVest
PiggyVest is a platform for savings and investments with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Through its app, the company gives customers the option to save and invest their money.
Founded in 2016, PiggyVest users may create automatic savings plans, keep tabs on their spending, and apply for loans through the company. Over 1 million users of PiggyVest have saved more than $40 million thanks to it. Forbes, CNBC Africa, and TechCrunch have all profiled the business.
8. Interswitch
The electronic exchange of value between people and organisations, as well as the quick and reliable circulation of money, are made possible by Interswitch, a leading technology and integrated payments firm.
It is impossible to overstate how important Interswitch has played in establishing the Nigerian fintech environment. The business has been a leader in offering advanced payment options causing a stir throughout the nation.
One of Interswitch’s most well-known products is Quickteller, a platform for digital payments that enables users to pay for goods and services online. Another mobile wallet allows users to store, send, and receive money. A third is USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), a service that allows users to access banking services via their mobile devices.
9. Carbon Paylater
Carbon paylater (now Carbon) is a loan app that allows salaried individuals, company owners, and individuals to obtain loans of up to NGN 10,000,000 million. This lending app has also alleviated the stress of getting loans from traditional institutions.
It was founded in 2016, and one finance limited owns it. Users can borrow loans quickly and easily using this lending app, which eliminates the requirement to produce documentation or assurance certifications.
Users can also get loans without a guarantor or security, the two most significant disadvantages of obtaining loans from banks in Nigeria.
The pay later app received a whopping million downloads in 2018, demonstrating how well-liked it has grown. Additionally, Carbon has unveiled a function called Payvest that enables users to save.
10. Remita
Remita is one of the most widely used transaction systems for paying bills. Hence it is known to every university in Nigeria. John Obaro started it in 2005 as a division of system specifications.
The payment software is essential because the federal government used it as a payment gateway for their Treasury single account (TSA) policy. This payment software has significantly impacted the government’s finances since it assisted in recovering N4.3 trillion in idle cash assets from deposit money banks (DMBS).
Remita is a CBN-licensed payment system that aids in payment processing and, as a bonus, has no activation fee for users. Over 1,000 businesses, SMEs, and nonprofits use Remita’s services, and over 500 microfinance institutions also use it.
Every year, it handles transactions worth more than USD 30 billion. Through nine various channels, including The Remita’s mobile app, standing orders and direct debits, bank branches, debit and credit cards, online banking, point-of-sale terminals, and mobile wallets, The Remita enables businesses to conduct transactions quickly and conveniently.
Remita has received numerous awards, including those for most effective revenue service, software firm of the year, and e-payment platform of the year.
11. Accelerex
The company has continued to dominate Nigeria’s Payment Terminal Service Providers in terms of transaction value since 2019. The program, supported by 95% of the nation’s banks, supports over 90,000 merchants across Nigeria’s 36 states.
In Nigeria, the name Accelerex is synonymous with reliability and cutting-edge technology regarding electronic payments. We expanded the brand’s activities into three more African nations: Ghana, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Accelerex offers services and solutions intended to improve the effectiveness of e-payments and company processes. This comprises the Accelerex Agent Network Platform (ANP), a sophisticated web-based platform created especially for the Agency Banking industry’s players to use and make their business operations more efficient.
This customer-focused business provides a modern contact centre open around the clock to answer questions, handle grievances, and assist customers. Accelerex can better serve its clients in its core geopolitical regions thanks to the development of regional offices in critical Nigerian geopolitical zones.
12. Kuda Bank
Kuda is a digital-only bank established in 2018 to make financial services accessible and inexpensive to all. Kuda is now Nigeria’s only bank that provides free bank accounts with no monthly fees. In addition, the organisation provides loans, savings, and investment options. Fast Company named Kuda the top finance startup in Africa in 2019.
Kuda Bank is popular in Nigeria, and it is one of the best digital banks in the country. It is also a top fintech firm, and it has been featured in numerous awards and magazines. Kuda also has an overdraft option that allows you to borrow money from them, and it is now one of the top lending apps in Nigeria.
13. E-Tranzact
E-tranzact is also one of Nigeria’s oldest FinTech firms. It is also one of the best FinTech businesses in Nigeria. It also provides a solution to Nigeria’s payment challenges, allowing businesses to accept payments online.
Niyi Toluwalope is the founder and CEO of the company. The company also owns financial service providers such as Mobile Topup, PocketMoni, CorporatePay, BankIT, and ATM CardlexCash.
E-transact was established in 2003 and has since processed payment requests via various channels such as ATM, POS, Web, and mobile automation transactions. It is compatible with networks such as VISA, AMEX, and MasterCard.
Today, E-tranzact is ranked as one of Nigeria’s top ten FinTech firms. It was named Best Corporate Turnaround and Transformation at the Business Day Top 25 CEOs and Next Bulls Awards in 2019.
Apart from Nigeria, E-tranzact also has operations in Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Cote d’Ivoire. It is also present in the United Kingdom.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s Fintech sector is vibrant and full of potential. Only a small portion of the Fintech startups and enterprises now active in the nation are included on this list of the top Fintech companies in Nigeria.
Although these businesses have taken advantage of technological advancements in the financial services sector, there are still plenty of untapped potential markets and unexplored areas to explore.