Making and receiving payments has never been easier since the advent of payment apps. The traditional method of payment was by cash or transfers from a bank account. Nigerians usually fill out a deposit slip, then queue in the banking hall, in order to send money to a recipient. To receive money, the same process applied. For more pressing transactions like buying a foodstuff, paying the electric bill, or buying airtime, paying in cash after withdrawal was the only way out.

The presence of numerous finance apps for payments has cut costs, saved time, and brought various payment channels closer to consumers than ever. Commercial banks also got on board with digitalizing payments by launching bank apps and allowing electronic payment. However, the traditional banking  IT infrastructure is not always reliable. Consumers report that electronic transactions fail frequently, and monies sent are left hanging midway; debited from the sender but not credited to the receiver. The central bank governor in a committee monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, March 22, apologized to Nigerians for the rise in failed electronic transactions. Coupled with the incessant charges for electronic transfers and other banking services; These reasons and more have made payment apps by fintech companies a ray of sunshine for the masses.

Most personal finance payment apps do not require transfer charges, payments are quick and network downtime is not a cause for concern. Perhaps the traditional banking system has not developed its infrastructure enough to accommodate the processing of both online and offline transactions. Even more so, in the face of the lingering cash scarcity, there are more cashless transactions than ever in the country.
Explore top payment apps for Nigerians in 2023, highly rated and widely downloaded based on user reviews and app store rankings.

Opay

Opay offers top-notch payment service payment services including bill payments and instant free transfers. This mobile money app is gunning for the top spot on google play and as of the time of writing, has the number 1 spot in Finance on the ios app store. It has gained more popularity since the cash scarcity in Nigeria. The app has earned a 4.2-star rating from over 305,000 reviews, and over 18 million downloads on the Google Play store. Opay also offers cashback on data & airtime recharge and recently SMS transaction alerts are now available on request.

Palmpay

With Palmpay, sending and receiving money between PalmPay users or Nigerian bank accounts is free. Opening a Palmpay digital wallet is free, and in the first month, all transfers are free. They also offer free money transfers every Tuesday. The app has a 4.5-star rating from over 384,000 reviews, as well as 10+ million downloads on the google play store. They hit the 10 million users milestone in August 2022. On the apple store, Palmpay is listed as number 2 in finance.

Moniepoint

Moniepoint is a newly introduced payment app. It caters to business owners, providing POS machines and app services for receiving their payments from customers. Individuals can also send and receive money, buy airtime, and pay bills on the go. The Google Play store rates Moniepoint 3.6 stars from over 1000 reviews and they have over 100,000 downloads. Apple store lists Moniepoint as number 6 in finance.

Paga

Paga is one of the oldest mobile money companies that has built an ecosystem to enable people to digitally send and receive money. With paga, you can instantly link your bank account, and cards or fund your paga account to perform financial functions including paying bills. The app has 4.1/5 stars from over 12,000 reviews. The app has over 500, 000 downloads.

Kuda

Kuda is described as a money app for Africans in all app stores. With the app, users can send money through usernames (existing customer names), to local or international third-party bank accounts. Apple store ranks Kuda as number 4 in finance. An account can be opened in a few minutes for free. They have a 4.4-star rating, from 0ver 210,000 reviews, and over 5 million downloads in the Google Play store.

Pay stack Merchant

This payment app is suitable for businesses. It enables merchants to receive payment from anywhere in the country and world. The app requests payments from customers and updates them on the delivery status of their orders. It also enables sellers to review their business performance as well as make refunds to customers when necessary.  Over 348,000 reviews have earned Paystack merchant 3.4/5 stars on the Google Play store. They have 0ver 100,000 downloads.

Remita

Remita enables sending money and paying bills with ease, and managing Standing Orders. It enables payments and collections with the different Nigerian bank accounts you register on the app. Corporate bodies can also authorize payments in an organization, SME, school, or religious body. Remita has a 3.4-star rating from over 1000 reviews on the Google Play store and over 100,000 downloads.