Nigerian Tekedia-backed tech startup, Touch and Pay Technologies (TAP),, has rolled out a new feature for transport support in Nigeria.
TAP is the new-age IT service company behind the popular Cowry card.
The feature called “dollar top-ups” enables Nigerians to receive small-dollar remittances from the diaspora for transportation.
Users can receive up to $20, which can be used for public transport payments, covering bus and train fares.
To facilitate these transactions, the fintech startup has partnered with New York-based remittance company Lipaworld
Lipaworld is a marketplace for digital vouchers that allows folks in the diaspora to send value to their loved ones back home in Africa.
Highlighting the initiative’s focus on transportation support, CEO Olamide Afolabi
clarified that TAP is not engaging in remittance services but rather in a targeted solution for transport needs.
“We’re not handling remittances directly- we don’t have the license. We just want people to send money home and pay for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the train”. He said.
TAP
TAP was the first payment company in Nigeria to provide payment infrastructure for contactless payment cards to be used on buses and ferries and now trains.
Olamide Afolabi and Michael Oluwole, founded TAP in 2019.
With its processing of micro-transactions, the company is helping to advance financial inclusion among Nigeria’s mostly unbanked population.
TAP processes transactions ranging from as low as 10 cents to $10.
Its flagship product, Cowry Card, has continued to surge in usage.
Cowry card now has over five million users and has processed transactions up to N20 billion in 2024.
The tech startup created the Cowry card to solve the problem of unbanked nigerian adults, and their limited ability to withdraw cash for use on public transportation.
TAP has extended its services into other systems that can benefit from cashless infrastructure.
These include; transport, utility payments, and grocery shopping.
TAP is changing the African narrative by processing micro-transactions for revenue assurance.
The Future
According to TAP, the dollar top-up service is only the beginning.
The startup plans to launch a global card that will allow users to receive funds from abroad for broader spending needs within Nigeria.
This means enhancing Cowry Card’s influence as a top fintech player in Africa.
The company also plans of expanding its services into the rest of the African continent.
