Paga maintains ten-year dominance of mobile wallet payment in Nigeria

Nigeria’s mobile payment giant, Paga, in pursuit of the financial inclusion policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has strenghtened its dominance of the mobile payment market, ten years down the line. 

With 14 million customers, 24 thousand agents across the 36 states of Nigeria and a transaction volume of N1.5 trillion, analysts say that Paga’s command of the market may yet be unassailable in the foreseeable future.

There are more than twenty licensed mobile operators in Nigeria, including Pocket Moni, V-cash and Fortis Mobile that are driving the vision of financial inclusion for all Nigerians, but paga stands out for its remarkable strides in the last one decade. 

Mypaga.com describes Paga as a mobile payment platform that allows its users to transfer money electronically and make payments through their mobile devices. “Paga acts as a mobile wallet where any user equipped with a mobile device can conduct transactional activities using their device.”

Analyzing the power of the Paga brand, Nairametrics.com’s Fakoyejo Olalekan says Paga’s success over the years has been largely attributed to its ability to serve the unbanked communities in rural areas of Nigeria. “The financial technology firm’s agents serve as human ATM for the underserved areas, transferring money digitally.”

ALSO READ Access Bank Plc appoints Ajoritsedere Awosika Board Chairman

On his part, Paga’s founder and Group Chief Executive, Tayo Oviosu, says the success of the brand is due to the trust Nigerians have in them. “Millions of Nigerians trust us with their money. We ensure that your money is safe by complying with the highest global security standards.”

Oviosu founded Paga in 2009, to address the use of cash and expand financial access, according to Wikipedia. Since then, affirms Techpoint, Oviosu has built a brand whose financial services has wider reach than many financial institutions  in the country.

But there is still more work ahead for Paga and the other mobile payment services, to achieve the CBN goal of financial inclusion for all Nigerians. Research and Markets, the acclaimed world’s largest research store, reports that in Nigeria, cash still dominates retail payments, but that digital transactions, especially mobile payments, are also growing strongly.