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Banking
Access Bank launches Tap to Phone in Nigeria
The race for contactless payments in Nigeria is heating up, with key players positioning themselves to crack this form of payment. While not new, contactless payments have long been a sleeper innovation in the country, held back by a lack of infrastructure, customer awareness, and adoption.
Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, has launched a Tap to Phone solution to expose the average Nigerian to contactless payments. Tap to Phone uses software point-of-sale (softPOS) technology, where merchants download an app and use their smartphones as POS terminals. With a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled card, customers can withdraw by simply bringing their cards near the smartphone without needing to slot them in.
This isn’t Access Bank’s first foray into contactless payments. It previously launched QR code capture payment technology, where users scan pre-generated QR codes to pay for goods and services. However, the bank hasn’t disclosed transaction numbers or how that technology is performing. With softPOS, Access Bank joins existing players like Kuda softPOS, which provides tap to phone functionalities in its business banking suite.
Fintech rivals Moniepoint and PalmPay are also pushing contactless payments. Moniepoint partnered with AfriGO to introduce cards, while PalmPay teamed up with CashAfrica, a Nigerian contactless payments infrastructure provider, to launch payment terminals. This hyper-activity reflects a belief that contactless payments are the future.
While infrastructural blockers are solvable, a deeper psychological block around security remains. How can users maintain control of their financial access if they lose their phones or cards? The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced daily cumulative limits capped at ₦50,000 ($33) to prevent heavy losses in cases of theft. However, building security-first solutions is crucial. In countries where contactless payments are entrenched, authorisation is key. Although providing authorised access to every payment is less user-friendly, it is efficient. Yet, the next will be making authorisation overrides difficult in those cases of theft.
With the country’s biggest bank throwing its hat in the race for contactless payment adoption, one needs no telling that contactless payments may be about to take off in Africa’s biggest economy.
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Companies
Safaricom remains silent on Mali fund as it pushes Ziidi
Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telco, is making a strong push for its new Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF), but the move hasn’t been without drama. While Ziidi has already racked up over one million sign-ups and KES 6 billion ($46 million) in funds, customers and industry insiders are raising questions about Mali, Safaricom’s first MMF, which now appears to be on shaky ground.
Mali, launched in partnership with Genghis Capital in 2020, was once a promising product. However, its growth stalled amid technical issues and regulatory hurdles. Now, Genghis Capital is accusing Safaricom of “business fraud” and claims the telecom operator intentionally orchestrated Mali’s decline while quietly building Ziidi with new partners. Some users were allegedly migrated to Ziidi without consent, sparking legal battles and concerns over data privacy violations.
The money market fund space in Kenya is heating up. With KES 254 billion ($1.9 billion) in total assets under management, these funds are becoming a go-to investment option. Money market funds account for over 67.4% of all investments, offering better returns than traditional bank savings. Safaricom is clearly eyeing a bigger slice of this growing market by embedding Ziidi into M-PESA, making investing as easy as sending mobile money.
This transition raises key questions. What happens to Mali investors? Will Safaricom compensate them if the fund collapses? The silence from both Safaricom and Genghis Capital fuels speculation. As digital investments become more mainstream, transparency and trust will be the real currency that determines who wins Kenya’s MMF battle.
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Banking
Zipline to launch in five more Nigerian states
Zipline is offering Nigeria a lifeline.
In a country where life-saving medical supplies can take hours—or even days—to reach those in need, Zipline, a US-based drone logistics company is expanding its reach across Nigeria to meet the need.
The company which currently operates in Bayelsa, Kaduna and Cross River recently partnered with the Nigerian government, allowing it to use its drone infrastructure to deliver essential medical supplies to remote and underserved areas across the country.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2022, Zipline has been using its high-speed autonomous drones to deliver life-saving medical supplies to hard-to-reach communities, cutting delivery times from hours or even days to just 30 minutes.
Zipline is also negotiating new state partnerships to establish a total of seven drone deployment stations—“nests” that can serve vast areas, overcoming the country’s logistical and infrastructure challenges.
The company’s ambition doesn’t stop at healthcare. While Zipline is focused on expanding its medical delivery services in Nigeria, it is also exploring drone logistics for agriculture and e-commerce. While Nigeria’s size and complexity will present a new challenge for Zipline, the company has proven expertise across eight countries—including Rwanda and Ghana—in four continents.
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CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$82,475 |
– 4.08% |
– 14.26% |
| Ether |
$2,068 |
– 5.43% |
– 23.34% |
| Fort Knox |
$0.0008834 |
– 2.44% |
+ 6.44% |
| Solana |
$128.29 |
– 7.34% |
– 32.75% |
* Data as of 06:20 AM WAT, March 10, 2025.
Job Openings
- Moniepoint — Product Manager — Remote (Nigeria)
- Palmpay — Senior Social Media Manager — Lagos, Nigeria
- Carbin Africa — Product Marketing Manager — Hybrid (Nigeria)
- Revwit — Product Marketing Associate — Remote (Nigeria)
There are more jobs on TechCabal’s job board. If you have job opportunities to share, please submit them at bit.ly/tcxjobs.
Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Faith Omoniyi
Edited by: Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
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I am the CEO of 9JAGISTLAND.My name is Adedeji Timothy and my co-owner is Oyekola Damilare.This blog is born out of our passion to educating to people in all aspect of internet life.We are enthusiastic about writing posts and articles online.
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