Top 10 fintech apps in Nigeria by number of downloads as of January 2023
Recent developments in the banking sector due to the redesign of the naira and the scarcity of naira notes has made many Nigerians rethink about entrusting their money to commercial banks. Fintechs, on the other hand, are now becoming the better option as they don’t charge their customers to keep their money like banks do.
Until now, the fintech ecosystem has revolutionized access to financial and banking services. The potential of these digital banks has seen global venture capitalists pump their money into fintechs in Nigeria.
As more fintechs emerge every day, the market is becoming highly competitive as target customers now have many choices from the range of companies offering innovative financial services via mobile apps.
Interestingly, as more Nigerians embrace the fintech apps for their convenience and easy access to financial services on the go, those with the better services are rewarded with more customers. And this can often be reflected in how many people download their apps.
The Nigerian fintech apps are available on both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. However, Nairametrics took a look at their download count on the Google Play Store, as the iOS Store does not show the number of downloads.
Here are the top 10 fintech apps in Nigeria by number of downloads as of January 2023.
10. Paga
Paga is a mobile money solution that offers transfers, bill payments, top-ups and even remittance services. The company says it has over 17 million users and is available to unbanked users offline as well through a mobile money agent network. However, on Google Play, the Paga app still has less than a million downloads.
- Downloads: 500k plus
- Rating: 4.1
- Reviews: 11,718
9. Cowrywise
Launched in 2017, Cowrywise is a fintech app that offers savings with interest at recurring, fixed and one-off rates. With this app you can build your savings and investment portfolios and manage your money securely. It also allows you to save as an individual or with a group. A notable highlight of Cowrywise is its friendly user interface and “Savings Challenge”, which challenges you to engage in strict savings plans that help you build up emergency funds or a better retention of funds at the end of the specified period.
- Downloads: 500k plus
- Rating: 4.4
- Reviews: 24,459
8. Piggy vest
PiggyVest provides its over 3 million customers with savings and investment tools, but it is not exactly a full-fledged digital bank. The company offers fixed, flexible, goal-oriented and automated savings options, as well as pre-approved primary and secondary investment opportunities with low-medium risk for 6 – 12 months.
- Downloads: 1 million plus
- Rating: 4.0
- Reviews: 41,000
7. Carbon
Carbon is a CBN-licensed digital bank that also offers a loan facility and investment options, in addition to regular digital banking features such as debit cards. Accounts are enabled for P2P payments, as well as bill payments and mobile recharge. Although the fintech company currently has over two million customers according to its website, the app on Google Play had been downloaded by one million customers.
- Downloads: 1 million plus
- Rating: 4.5
- Reviews: 138,000
6. Palm credit
Palmcredit is a fintech app in Nigeria owned by Newedge Finance Limited where users can get loans without collateral. As one of the most downloaded fintech apps, there is no doubt that many Nigerians in Nigerians are benefiting from the loan services offered through the app.
- Downloads: 5 million plus
- Rating: 4.0
- Reviews: 168,000
5. JumiaPay
E-commerce company Jumia first introduced its JumiaPay app in 2016 and is now used to pay for more than 50 percent of sales on the platform. The company also recently launched consumer loans on the app via collaboration with banks. Ranked as one of the most downloaded fintech apps on the Play Store, Jumia pay had received over 5 million downloads in January.
- Downloads: 5 million plus
- Rating: 4.3
- Reviews: 132,000
4. Kuda
The US$500 million fintech is fully licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Although Kuda is based in London, it is currently focused on the Nigerian market. Kuda accounts come with a free debit card, budget and spending controls, and transfers and savings features too. The bank has also killed maintenance fees and provides users with a specific list of free transfers each month.
- Downloads: 5 million plus
- Rating: 4.0
- Reviews: 183,000
3. Palmpay
The Palmpay fintech app was first released in September 2018, according to information on Google Play. But a pilot phase was launched in July 2019 after the company secured a mobile money operator license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It officially became available to Nigerian users in November 2019.
- Downloads: 5 million plus
- Rating: 4.5
- Reviews: 331,000
2. OPay
Opera’s Africa fintech startup OPay launched its mobile money platform in Lagos in 2018 due to the popularity of the internet search engine in Africa. OPay’s mobile money service gives users the ability to pay for utilities, make P2P transfers and also save. The company also offers an offline banking service where users who do not have smartphones can still carry out transactions.
- Download: 10 million plus
- Rating: 4.4
- Reviews: 275,000
1. FairMoney
FairMoney is a digital bank with a focus on lending. The company provides instant loans of up to one million naira, as well as a bank account and a debit card. According to the company, FairMoney processes over 10,000 loans every day, with one loan paid out every eight seconds. While it shares the same number of downloads and ratings with OPay, FairMoney has more user reviews, placing it ahead of OPay.
- Downloads: 10 million plus
- Rating: 4.4
- Reviews: 548,000
The bottom line
While other fintechs are doing very well in Nigeria, whose services are not app-based, some of those running on apps now have more downloads than banking apps. Currently, none of the commercial banks in Nigeria have reached 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, an indication that fintech apps are gaining more traction.
