OPAY BECOMES NIGERIA’S MOST DOWNLOADED BANKING APP AS MORE BANKS SUFFER NETWORK GLITCHES

Opay has retained its position as the most downloaded banking App in Nigeria following the insistent network failures experienced by most commercial banks in Nigeria. Recent statistics has revealed that Opay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint have emerged as the leading beneficiaries of the ongoing technological upgrades being implemented by commercial banks in Nigeria. These upgrades, aimed at improving banking services, have unfortunately left numerous customers facing challenges, as many have been stranded during the process.

This development mirrors the events of 2023, when Opay and PalmPay experienced a sharp rise in usage following a similar period in which traditional banks struggled to manage an increase in online transaction demands. The inability of the conventional banking system to keep up led customers to turn to more efficient and reliable alternatives. In March 2023, Opay and PalmPay stood out as the most downloaded financial applications in Nigeria. By October 2023, Opay had claimed the top spot as the country’s most downloaded app overall. The fintechs’ dominance was reflected in mobile money transactions, which soared by 348.11 percent, reaching N41.54 trillion between January and July 2024, compared to N9.27 trillion during the same period in 2022. Their rise was primarily attributed to their reliability and efficiency.

The ongoing network upgrade in commercial banking sector is intended to mitigate the issues of transfer failures that plagued customers during the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) now-retracted cashless policy. However, these upgrades have unintentionally driven more Nigerians to rely on Opay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint for their financial transactions. “Opay and other neobanks have been the biggest winners of the last two weeks,” said Bolaji Akinboro, chairman of Voriancorelli and co-founder of Cellulant. “Most Nigerians now have wallets from neobanks. When the traditional banks went down, those with money in their wallets could conduct peer-to-peer transactions within the same ecosystem.”

For many Nigerians, the impact of the disruption caused by commercial banks’ IT upgrades has been immediate. In 2023, Olamide Eniola opened an Opay account when she faced difficulties transferring money from her bank. During the recent IT challenges, her Opay account came to her rescue once again. “I couldn’t access my salary for about a week, but someone told me about a feature on the app. You can link another bank’s card to your Opay account and transfer money between banks using the Opay app. That’s what saved me,” she explained.

Another customer, Lolade Akanji, shared a similar experience. “My traditional bank’s app is working now, but I opened an Opay account because I don’t want to go through that experience again.”

Temiloluwa Abdulrazak, another traditional bank customer, said, “I had to download PalmPay when my bank app wasn’t opening.”

Many Nigerians have taken to social media to express their appreciation for these fintech platforms. A user on X, @cremechic11, tweeted, “The speed of Opay is unbelievable. Took me all of 2 minutes to set up my account and start transactions.”

Another user, @FoluShaw, wrote, “Since my bank sent out the email and text messages to notify us that they would be upgrading their systems and we may not be able to use their services, I decided to send some money to Opay. Opay is fast!”

In agreement, @Ssaasquatch tweeted, “Opay is heads and shoulders above everyone else. I used them once and was more than impressed. I don’t like how overtly aggressive they are with their marketing, but I believe everyone should have an Opay account.”

Prominent tech entrepreneur Mark Essien, co-founder of Hotels.ng, further solidified the credibility of the fintech platforms, tweeting, “Opay and Moniepoint will win the Nigerian banking game with their reliability. The other banks are going through spells of extreme unreliability. Failed transfers held for days before refund. In the meantime, people have no cash to do things with.”