Fintech apps reach 88% of Nigerian smartphone users – Report

Banking and financial technology applications have reached 88 per cent of smartphone users in Nigeria as consumers increasingly turn to mobile devices for payments, transfers and other financial transactions, a new report has revealed.

The Nigeria Smartphone Study 2025, conducted by KPMG Nigeria and Orange Group, found that banking and fintech applications were the second-most popular category of apps among smartphone users, behind social media and communication platforms at 98 per cent.

The report, released in September 2026, surveyed 13,251 respondents across 12 major Nigerian cities and examined smartphone ownership, application penetration and digital consumption patterns.

It said, “This is followed by banking and fintech applications with adoption levels reaching as high as 88 per cent among respondents. This reflects Nigeria’s rapid shift toward digital financial services as consumers increasingly rely on mobile applications for payments, transfers, and financial management.”

The findings showed that banking and fintech applications were ahead of productivity tools, which recorded 85 per cent penetration, streaming and music platforms at 82 per cent, and web browsers and utilities at 81 per cent.

According to the study, the widespread adoption of financial applications reflects the growing preference of Nigerians for convenient alternatives to traditional banking channels.

“The widespread use of fintech platforms highlights the growing demand for convenient, accessible financial services across Nigeria. Mobile banking apps, digital wallets, and fintech platforms have significantly improved financial inclusion by providing consumers with alternatives to traditional banking infrastructure,” the report stated.

OPay dominated the individual banking and fintech applications examined, with its app found on 69 per cent of smartphones surveyed. PalmPay recorded 29 per cent penetration, while Moniepoint was also identified alongside OPay and PalmPay as one of the three leading banking and fintech apps on Nigerian smartphones.

The report said, “OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint rank as the top three banking and fintech apps present on the smartphones of Nigerian users, underscoring the growing dominance of fintech solutions over traditional banking platforms.”

It added that OPay led the category with 69 per cent smartphone penetration, reflecting an increasingly competitive financial services market in which conventional banks are contending with mobile-first fintech companies.

Data presented in the report showed that OPay’s penetration was significantly higher than that of individual traditional banking apps.

Access Bank recorded 16 per cent, while UBA and GTBank had 11 per cent each. FirstBank stood at 10 per cent, Zenith Bank at nine per cent, and Stanbic IBTC at six per cent.

The study said the increasing demand for instant payment services had contributed to fintech adoption, with consumers gradually shifting from cash transactions towards digital payment methods.

It noted that fintech and banking applications had become important tools for managing financial activities, particularly in urban areas where digital payments were increasingly used for retail, transportation and services.

“The strong adoption of fintech platforms also signals continued progress toward financial inclusion in Nigeria,” the report said.

It added that mobile financial services had expanded access to financial tools among people who previously had limited interaction with traditional banking institutions. The surge in financial app usage coincided with rising smartphone ownership in the country.

Smartphone penetration increased by 11 percentage points to 75 per cent in 2025 from 64 per cent in 2023. Feature phone penetration, meanwhile, declined to 28 per cent from 36 per cent over the same period.

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The report said the development showed that Nigeria was “rapidly becoming a mobile-first economy” as consumers moved from feature phones to internet-enabled devices and app-driven digital services.

Android remained the dominant operating system, accounting for 88 per cent of smartphones in the study, compared with 86 per cent in 2023. Apple’s iOS accounted for 13 per cent in 2025.

The country’s smartphone market was also dominated by relatively affordable brands, with Tecno controlling 25 per cent, Infinix 24 per cent and Itel 10 per cent.

The report attributed their market position largely to affordable devices designed for emerging markets, saying the Nigerian smartphone market remained driven by price and functionality.

The increasing use of financial applications has also accompanied a sharp expansion in Nigeria’s wider digital payments market.

Citing Central Bank of Nigeria data, the study said the value of digital payments rose from N587.5tn in 2020 to N1,261.65tn in 2024, representing an increase of about 115 per cent.

Transaction volume also climbed by about 70 per cent from 10.42 billion transactions in 2020 to 17.67 billion in 2024.

The report identified widespread smartphone adoption and internet access, user-friendly banking and fintech apps, innovation in digital wallets and remittances, rising consumer trust and digital financial literacy, and regulatory and infrastructure investment as drivers of the expansion.

It noted that consumers increasingly relied on smartphones for transfers, bill payments, airtime purchases, and account management, reducing dependence on physical bank branches.

Despite the expansion, the study identified gaps that could limit broader digital adoption. It said more than one-third of mobile subscribers remained on 2G networks as of May 2026, while infrastructure limitations, affordability, gaps in digital literacy and cybersecurity concerns continued to affect the depth and inclusiveness of digital access.

The survey covered Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin, Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Benin City, Abuja, Jos, Kaduna and Kano.

Of the 13,251 respondents, 53 per cent were male and 47 per cent female, while 85 per cent were between 18 and 45 years. The researchers used structured surveys and device observation to examine applications installed on respondents’ smartphones and their usage patterns.

The PUNCH earlier reported that Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria closed a net 476 branches and cash centres between 2022 and 2025, reducing their physical footprint by 8.8 per cent in three years, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Figures contained in the CBN’s 2025 Statistical Bulletin for the Financial Sector showed that the number of bank branches and cash centres across the country declined from 5,410 in 2022 to 4,934 in 2025.

The decline occurred despite an increase in the number of banks operating in the country over the period, pointing to a gradual contraction in physical banking locations.

The figures indicate that the contraction in the industry’s physical footprint has accelerated in recent years, highlighting how rapidly banking is migrating from brick-and-mortar to electronic platforms.