PalmPay, one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing mobile payments companies, has announced the creation of a N100,000,000 fund to support Nigerians in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The money will be used to support relief organizations working to address the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, as well as to fund the provision of an innovative COVID-19 cover for its entire customer base.
Under the original scheme, every transacting PalmPay customer can qualify for a N100,000 payout from the PalmPay Support Fund should they be diagnosed with COVID-19. The intention is to provide a financial cushion to its user base and help Nigerians who are affected by the virus get back on their feet.
More money will be added to the fund every time a transaction is made on the app for the duration of the campaign, and information about the fund is transparently updated in real-time on the PalmPay app. The campaign has been branded #PalmPayCares, and is due to run for an initial month-long period.
“We are proud to be launching this campaign to offer our support to our community of users and organizations on the front line of the response to the pandemic”, said Greg Reeve, Global PalmPay CEO. We want our customers to know that we are there for them through these uncertain times, and that they can be a part of relief efforts too as we will add to the fund every time they transact on the PalmPay app.”
Other key measures being announced today are designed to ease the financial burden on Nigerian consumers and help them as they try to minimize their risk of exposure to the virus.
PalmPay is removing all money transfer charges from its service, making it free to transfer money from its wallet to other PalmPay users and to Nigerian bank accounts for any amount. Moreover, the licensed Mobile Money Operator, has completed an integration into NIBSS’s NIP list, which now makes it possible for anyone to send money to a PalmPay wallet straight from their online banking app.
Users can also deposit to their PalmPay wallets free of charge using their ATM cards within the app, and will benefit from a N100 incentive every week for depositing at least N1,000 with either method.
“Using digital payment methods is one of the ways people can protect themselves and others from the virus, which can attach itself to cash and other surfaces.”, explains Reeve “Our aim with these initiatives is to make that as easy and affordable as possible, and offer Nigerians a rewarding way to make payments through PalmPay.”
PalmPay offers Nigerians a range of financial services via its mobile app, including transfers, airtime and bill payment. With a tagline of “The Payment App That Rewards You”, the company’s USP of offering cashback and discounts to its customers has established the mobile payments service as a favorite among millennial consumers.
Users can earn up to N20,000 a month in cashback in the form of PalmPoints that can be used to carry out transactions on the app. Other incentives include a N300 referral reward for each new friend that existing customers introduce to PalmPay, a multi-level marketing programme to provide further rewards for regular referrers, and a “Lucky Money” game that can be played after each transaction with prizes including discount coupons and more PalmPoints.
Since launching in September 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator license granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, PalmPay has become one of the fastest-growing financial services companies in Nigeria. Its app has gathered over 500,000 users and can be found in the top 5 in the finance category on both the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store.
In November 2019, the company announced a $40m USD seed funding round led by TECNO Mobile, the leading mobile phone brand which enjoys over 50% market share in Nigeria.
As part of the partnership, the PalmPay app is being pre-installed on up to 20 million devices in Nigeria and other markets within 2020, and the company also has access to TECNO’s country- wide network of offline retail points which it is leveraging as it builds out its sales and mobile money agent networks.