PalmPay to tackle rising fraud with advanced tech

PalmPay, a leading fintech company, has announced the deployment of advanced technology solutions to combat the growing threat of fraud in Nigeria’s digital payment space.

The Managing Director of Palmpay, Chika Nwosu, revealed this during the company’s fifth-anniversary celebration in Lagos, recently.

He noted that the company had made remarkable growth but also pinpointed the hurdles the fintech had had to overcome, particularly in tackling the increase in fraud cases.

According to Nwosu, since its launch in Nigeria, Palmpay’s user base has surged from 100,000 in November 2019 to over 35 million by 2024, while the company now processes 300 million transactions monthly.

He said the total transaction value on the platform had surpassed N6tn, with a network of 1 million mobile merchants and vendors.

“Recently, there has been a rise in fraud. However, we have gotten some AI and fraud monitoring tools to combat them,” he said, emphasising the firm’s proactive steps to address security concerns.

Meanwhile, experts argued that the financial players must bridge the widening technology adoption gaps and closely track insider threats after losing N42.6bn to fraud between April and June 2024.

The Financial Institutions Training Centre revealed the loss in its Q2 2024 Fraud and Forgeries Report, released in September.

The figure surpassed the total fraud-related losses recorded by Nigerian banks throughout 2023.

Nwosu also reiterated that financial inclusion remained a core focus for Palmpay, noting that the company was working to ensure even those without smartphones could participate in the digital financial ecosystem.

“The future is about deepening financial inclusion. We want to reach the last man—the people who do not even use smartphones,” PalmPay MD remarked.

Despite the challenges of fraud and regulatory pressures that had impacted customer onboarding at times, Nwosu affirmed Palmpay’s commitment to problem-solving and innovation in Nigeria’s financial sector.

“The past five years have been about problem-solving, innovative thinking, and enabling Nigeria’s financial economy,” he added.