“Can a Chinese-backed Nigerian wallet become the default embedded-finance platform across Africa and emerging Asia?”
PalmPay launched in 2019 as a mobile wallet for Nigerian consumers, backed by Chinese phone-maker Transsion which preloaded the app on Tecno devices. It scaled to ~40M users by 2025 on the back of agent banking and zero-fee transfers, evolving into a full-service neobank — adding debit cards (Verve, AfriGo), embedded lending via Blooms Microfinance Bank, insurance (AXA Mansard), and cross-border remittances. The current strategic pivot is geographic: from Nigeria-only to a pan-African + Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan) embedded-finance footprint.