The archive · Money & Fintech · Marketing decision · 2019–2025
PalmPay's cashback-and-preinstall bet: from $40M seed to 35M users in Nigeria
PalmPay bet phone-brand distribution, cashback and agent networks could break Nigeria's cash habit; it reached 35M users and profitability by 2025.
PalmPay
What the business is
A Nigeria-first mobile money and digital banking platform: instant-onboarding wallet with free transfers, bill payments, credit, savings and insurance for consumers, plus agent-POS and cross-border payments for businesses.
Starting capital：$40M seed (2019, from Transsion/Tecno, NetEase and MediaTek) + $100M Series A (Aug 2021, Chuangshi Capital, Yunshi, Trust Capital, Chengyu Capital, AfricInvest) — about $140M total
How it started
PalmPay entered Nigeria in June 2019 under a Central Bank of Nigeria mobile money operator licence, founded with a $40M seed from Transsion (Tecno), NetEase and MediaTek — then the largest seed round ever raised by an African startup. At the time more than half of Nigerian adults were unbanked; PalmPay bet a mobile-first, no-fee wallet could outrun the banks.
What happened
In August 2021 PalmPay closed a $100M Series A (Chuangshi Capital, Yunshi, Trust Capital, Chengyu Capital, AfricInvest), one of Africa's largest at the time. By early 2022 it claimed 5M+ users across Nigeria and Ghana with monthly transaction volume above $100M; by 2024 it reported 35M registered users in Nigeria and up to 15M daily transactions, backed by 1.2M businesses and agent merchants. It also launched cross-border merchant payments in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.
How it ended up
Still scaling and now profitable: TechCrunch reported on 2025-06-05 that PalmPay had raised nearly $140M, turned profitable, was in talks for a $50–100M Series B, and was expanding the model to Tanzania and Bangladesh — with 2023 revenue of $64M (per the Financial Times) more than doubled since.
Background
PalmPay launched in Nigeria in June 2019 under a Central Bank of Nigeria mobile money licence, with a $40 million seed from Transsion (Tecno), NetEase and MediaTek — at the time the largest seed round ever raised by an African startup. The bet was simple: more than half of Nigerian adults were unbanked, and a mobile wallet optimized for the informal economy could convert them faster than banks.
PalmPay attacked distribution and habit: the app was pre-installed on Tecno, Infinix and itel phones (about 20 million devices by early 2022), transfers were free, and cashback rewarded daily usage. A $100 million Series A closed in August 2021 — one of Africa's largest — and by 2024 the company reported 35 million registered users in Nigeria and up to 15 million daily transactions, supported by more than a million business and agent-POS touchpoints.
By mid-2025 PalmPay was profitable, with 2023 revenue of $64 million (per the Financial Times) more than doubled since, and was reportedly in talks to raise $50–100 million to expand into Tanzania, Bangladesh and beyond. TechCabal described it as a household name in Nigerian fintech, and CNBC/Statista ranked it among the world's top 250 fintechs in 2024.
What has to be true
- Pre-install distribution: partnering with Transsion (40%+ of African smartphone sales) put the wallet on devices before users chose a payments app.
- Free transfers and cashback changed daily habit, not just acquisition — a rewards-led flywheel in a cash-first economy.
- Hybrid reach: 1M+ agent merchants and POS points handled cash-in and cash-out, the part pure digital wallets could not do alone.
- Unit economics over subsidies: profitability by 2025, with revenue doubling after 2023, shows volume converted into real revenue.
What can be applied
Distribution beats brand in cash-first markets: PalmPay rode pre-installed Transsion apps and free-transfer cashback to 35M users, then converted reach into a profitable payments business.
Aftermath
As of June 2025 PalmPay was profitable and reportedly raising a $50–100M Series B to deepen Nigeria and expand across Africa and Asia (Tanzania, Bangladesh), adding device financing and cross-border merchant payments that already process hundreds of millions of dollars monthly.
Sources
- PalmPay raised $100M Series A last August, claims to have 5 million users
- How PalmPay became a household name in Nigeria's fintech space in five years
- Profitable African fintech PalmPay is in talks to raise as much as $100M
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card