PalmPay partners AfriGO to introduce five million contactless cards

PalmPay, the Nigerian fintech with over 35 million users, has partnered with AfriGO, the national domestic card scheme, to roll out five million contactless payment cards and tap-to-pay solutions across Nigeria, the company shared in a statement.

The move follows a similar partnership between Moniepoint and AfriGo, further aligning with Nigeria’s ongoing shift toward contactless payments.

The partnership comes one week after TechCabal reported contactless payment infrastructure provider CashAfrica partnered with PalmPay to roll out tap-to-pay functionality on its POS terminals. Both companies will kick off with 1,000 devices in a pilot phase before a nationwide expansion in March.

The recent partnership between fintechs and AfriGo signals a wave of preparedness for contactless payment adoption in Nigeria. For AfriGo, these collaborations represent a strategic move to capture a segment of Nigeria’s payment market that remains largely untapped—contactless transactions.

“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,” said Ebehijie Momoh, Managing Director/CEO of Afrigopay Financial Services Limited (AFSL).

While AfriGo has shared market space with Visa, Mastercard, and local rival Verve, in other digital payment forms, contactless payments present a new opportunity for the scheme to establish a stronger foothold. Industry experts also say the recent partnerships could address one of the biggest barriers to contactless payment adoption—merchant acceptance. With major fintechs driving issuance, more businesses may be incentivized to enable contactless terminals.

“One of the biggest issue for contactless payment adoption in Africa has been the lack of authorization with cards,” said Malik Asamu CEO CashAfrica. “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 customers want to authorize every transaction even down to the kobo.”

While mobile wallets and QR codes have grown in adoption, Nigeria has yet to see widespread contactless card payments, a system dominant in markets like Europe and China. But with two of Nigeria’s top three fintechs—PalmPay and Moniepoint—now issuing contactless cards, the first real wave of tap-to-pay transactions in Nigeria may begin. 

The wave of contactless payment in Nigeria may be card-driven rather than mobile-led as many Nigerians still lack NFC-enabled smartphones required for contactless payment. 

As Nigeria gears up for mass contactless adoption, the battle for market share is intensifying—and if current trends continue, fintechs may finally drive the shift from PIN-based transactions to tap-and-go payments at scale.