In a move that reinforces its growing influence, PalmPay has once again secured a spot among the world’s top fintech trailblazers. For 2025, the platform has been named to CNBC & Statista’s Top 300 Fintech Companies in the World, marking its second consecutive year earning this distinction. With thousands of contenders globally, this recognition places PalmPay firmly among established names and up-and-coming innovators alike.
Such lists are not handed out lightly. The selection process evaluated firms across several critical metrics: growth trajectory, innovation in financial technology, depth of market penetration, and overall impact. That PalmPay makes the cut once more underscores not only its momentum but the increasing weight being carried by fintechs emerging from underbanked markets.
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What Makes PalmPay Stand Out in Emerging Markets
Boasting over 35 million registered users and facilitating up to 15 million transactions daily, PalmPay’s numbers are not just impressive—they tell a story. Its footprint goes well beyond Lagos or Abuja, aiming deeply at underserved populations who have traditionally been shut out of mainstream digital banking.
In Nigeria — PalmPay’s home market — it offers the full spread: transfers, bill payments, savings, credit, and insurance. These are bundled within a user-friendly app, backed up by an expansive offline network of more than one million agents and merchant-partners. For people who may not have easy access to bank branches, that agent network often becomes the bridge to financial inclusion.
PalmPay has also moved beyond purely consumer-facing services. Its business-to-business (B2B) capabilities—Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, APIs, merchant tools—add another dimension to its operations. These enable merchants and enterprises to plug into PalmPay’s infrastructure, helping to widen the scope and depth of its impact.
Expanding Horizons: Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Beyond
PalmPay’s ambitions are clearly not limited to Nigeria. The company has recently launched in Tanzania and Bangladesh, using a strategy centred around smartphone device financing. This approach does two things: it lowers the barrier to entry for people who cannot afford up-front high-end devices, and it serves as a launchpad for onboarding them into digital finance services.
Leadership at PalmPay sees a dual mission: closing the financial access gap for ordinary people and small businesses, while building out partner ecosystems that can sustain long-term reach and trust. As the Group Chief Commercial Officer, Jiapei Yan, puts it, the goal is to create infrastructure for a “connected digital economy.”
In addition, Sofia Zab, the founding Chief Marketing Officer, says that this new recognition from CNBC and Statista is not just an award—it’s a validation of PalmPay’s strategy of local distribution, innovative tech, and putting customers first.
Recognition, Growth & What It Means for Nigeria’s Fintech Scene
This isn’t PalmPay’s only recent accolade. Earlier in 2025, the company was ranked #2 overall and #1 in the financial services sector in the Financial Times – Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies list. That ranking was based on revenue growth from 2020 to 2023, showcasing how quickly PalmPay has scaled.
Its expansion into multiple countries, diverse product offerings, and growing user base signal more than just corporate growth—they represent rising expectations for what fintechs from Nigeria and similar markets can achieve. For consumers, this means better access, more choice, and services that are increasingly tailored for local realities. For regulators and investors, it’s proof that the fintech sector here is maturing. For PalmPay’s competitors, it sets a benchmark.
A growing footprint in Africa and parts of Asia, combined with continuous innovation and partnership-led expansion, positions PalmPay as not just a fintech success story, but one that could help reshape how financial inclusion is realised in emerging economies.
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