PalmPay, one of Nigeria’s leading fintech companies with over 35 million users, has joined forces with AfriGo, the country’s national domestic card scheme, to introduce five million contactless payment cards and tap-to-pay solutions nationwide. This partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of contactless transactions across Nigeria, providing a seamless and secure payment experience for consumers and businesses.
The collaboration follows a similar agreement between Moniepoint and AfriGo, further demonstrating the growing momentum towards a cashless and contactless payment ecosystem in Nigeria. It also comes just a week after reports emerged that PalmPay had partnered with CashAfrica, a contactless payment infrastructure provider, to integrate tap-to-pay functionality into its POS terminals. The pilot phase of that initiative is set to begin with 1,000 devices before a nationwide rollout in March.
These recent partnerships mark a significant push toward expanding contactless payment adoption in Nigeria. For AfriGo, the move is strategic, aiming to capture a largely untapped segment of the payment market—contactless transactions. Speaking on the partnership, Ebehijie Momoh, Managing Director and CEO of Afrigopay Financial Services Limited (AFSL), emphasized its potential to enhance financial inclusion and boost the country’s digital economy.
“We are excited to partner with PalmPay to revolutionize financial services and expand access to digital payments across Nigeria. Through this collaboration, AfriGo and PalmPay will provide enhanced access to digital payments—particularly in underserved areas—drive financial inclusion, and support the rapidly growing digital economy in Nigeria,” she said.
Despite operating in a market dominated by global payment giants like Visa and Mastercard, AfriGo sees an opportunity to strengthen its foothold in the industry through contactless transactions. Experts believe that fintech partnerships like this will help address a major hurdle to the adoption of tap-to-pay solutions—merchant acceptance. As more businesses integrate contactless terminals, consumer adoption is expected to rise significantly.
Malik Asamu, CEO of CashAfrica, also highlighted another critical challenge affecting contactless payment adoption—transaction authorization. “One of the biggest issues for contactless payment adoption in Africa has been the lack of authorization with cards,” he explained. “I believe the recent partnerships will accelerate the delivery of contactless payments and also explore in-depth ways Nigerians can authorize each transaction before they are completed. Nigerian data shows that customers want to authorize every transaction, even down to the kobo.”
While mobile wallets and QR codes have gained traction in Nigeria’s digital payment landscape, contactless card payments have yet to see widespread adoption, unlike in regions like Europe and China, where they dominate. However, with two of Nigeria’s biggest fintech firms—PalmPay and Moniepoint—now pushing the issuance of contactless cards, the first major wave of tap-to-pay transactions in Nigeria could be on the horizon.
Interestingly, the contactless revolution in Nigeria may be more card-driven than mobile-led. Many Nigerians still lack smartphones with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities, a key requirement for mobile-based contactless payments. This reality positions physical contactless cards as the more viable alternative for driving mass adoption.
