This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs, financial institutions, companies, and governments. A new edition drops every Monday.
Fintechs like OPay and PalmPay built their dominance on reliability and speed.
For years, failed transfers on bank apps and downtime pushed millions of Nigerians toward these fintech apps for everyday payments. Their adoption accelerated during the cash crunch triggered by the failed naira redesign policy of 2022.
However, after years of heavy investment in core infrastructure, traditional banks are beginning to close the gap on speed and reliability, and it is starting to show in their numbers.
With reliability no longer a clear edge, cheaper fees, better user experience, and value-added services such as tailored credit will become more important as banks and fintechs look for new ways to retain customers.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), one of Nigeria’s largest financial services groups, processed ₦72.4 trillion ($52.66 billion) in transactions across its digital platforms, GTWorld and GAPS/GAPSLite, in 2025, a 7.89% increase from 2024.
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