Nigeria: Paystack Expands into Consumer Payments with Zap, a Fast Transfer App

After nearly a decade of revolutionizing online payments for businesses, Paystack is making a bold move into the consumer payments space with Zap, a new money transfer app designed for instant transactions.

The shift marks a new chapter for the Stripe-owned fintech, which previously focused on enabling seamless business transactions. With Zap, Paystack is now targeting individual users, aiming to simplify peer-to-peer transfers while maintaining its reputation for speed and reliability.

Instant Transfers, Seamless Experience

Zap allows users to send money to any Nigerian bank account within 10 seconds. Customers can fund their Zap wallets by:

• Linking their Nigerian bank accounts via Paystack’s direct debit infrastructure
• Depositing funds into a Paystack-Titan Trust Bank account

According to Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade, this partnership with Titan Trust Bank allows the company to securely hold deposits, reinforcing Paystack’s growing role in Nigeria’s banking infrastructure.

However, Zap has some limitations. Currently, only commercial bank accounts can be linked via Paystack Vault, meaning users of digital banks like OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint cannot connect their accounts.

Competitive Pricing or a Challenge?

While Zap’s speed is a major selling point, its pricing model may pose a challenge.

• Depositing ₦10,000 via a linked bank account incurs a ₦35 fee
• Withdrawing ₦9,900 comes with an additional ₦25 fee
• Users effectively pay ₦50 in total fees for a deposit and withdrawal cycle

Compared to OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint—who have built strong customer bases by offering lower fees—Zap is currently more expensive. However, Akinlade hinted that pricing could evolve as the product matures.

Beyond Transfers: A Global-Ready Feature

Zap also allows users to link debit or credit cards from any country, enabling instant transfers to Nigerian accounts. At a recent Evening with Paystack event, Akinlade demonstrated a near-instant transfer from a Bank of America card to a Nigerian account.

While this feature resembles a remittance service, Paystack insists that Zap is not entering the cross-border payments market just yet. Instead, the company is focusing on instant domestic transfers, particularly for travelers and frequent money movers.

“If you’re sending money to Nigeria from abroad, you can wait a few minutes. Our priority is immediate delivery,” Akinlade explained.

KYC Tiers and Transaction Limits

To ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, Zap users must complete Know Your Customer (KYC) verification before sending or receiving money.

The app has three user tiers with different transaction limits:

Why Bank Transfers? Why Now?

Paystack’s move into consumer transfers is a response to shifting market trends.

In 2023, bank transfers accounted for 58% of all transactions processed by Paystack—double the 28% recorded in 2022. This growth reflects a broader industry shift towards pay-by-bank solutions, which have started outpacing traditional card networks like Visa and Mastercard in Nigeria.

Paystack has already built an extensive pay-by-bank infrastructure through products like:

• Paystack Terminal (in-person payments)
• API integrations with fintechs like OPay

Zap extends this ecosystem, offering a direct-to-consumer experience that keeps transactions within Paystack’s network.

For example, if a Chowdeck user transfers money from Zap to a Paystack-Titan account, the funds never leave Paystack’s ecosystem, creating a closed-loop payment experience that enhances transaction speed and reliability.

Breaking into Nigeria’s Competitive Consumer Payments Market

With Zap, Paystack is entering a fiercely competitive space dominated by OPay, Kuda, PalmPay, and Moniepoint, all of whom gained significant market share during Nigeria’s 2023 cash scarcity crisis by offering fast and affordable transfers.

These fintechs have amassed millions of users:

• Kuda – 7.2 million users
• OPay – Over 30 million users

To stand out, Zap must differentiate itself beyond speed and design. Akinlade is confident that user experience and reliability will set it apart.

“We are not competing with other fintechs. Our ideal users are frequent money senders—Nigerians traveling across Africa. We cater to people who value taste, speed, and reliability.”

However, affordability remains a key factor in Nigeria’s payments landscape. If Paystack wants Zap to gain widespread adoption, it may need to rethink its pricing model to appeal to cost-conscious consumers.

Despite the challenges, Akinlade remains optimistic:

“A lot of our work is shaping Nigeria’s experience. It’s important to me that things in Nigeria are as elegant as everywhere else. Zap will keep getting better.”