In a move that’s set to accelerate Nigeria’s shift towards contactless payments, PalmPay, a leading 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 the country.

This partnership follows a similar collaboration between Moniepoint and AfriGO, signaling a wave of preparedness for contactless payment adoption in Nigeria.

The move is also aligned with Nigeria’s ongoing shift towards contactless payments, with the recent partnership between CashAfrica and PalmPay aiming to roll out tap-to-pay functionality on POS terminals.

According to Ebehijie Momoh, Managing Director/CEO of Afrigopay Financial Services Limited (AFSL), this partnership will 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.”

The partnership is a strategic move by AfriGO to capture a segment of Nigeria’s payment market that remains largely untapped—contactless transactions.

With major fintechs driving issuance, more businesses may be incentivized to enable contactless terminals, addressing one of the biggest barriers to contactless payment adoption—merchant acceptance.

Industry experts believe that the recent partnerships will accelerate the delivery of contactless payments and explore ways to authorize each transaction before completion.

“One of the biggest issues for contactless payment adoption in Africa has been the lack of authorization with cards,” said Malik Asamu, CEO of CashAfrica.

As Nigeria gears up for mass contactless adoption, the battle for market share is intensifying. 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.