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PalmPay Named Digital Payments Platform of the Year at the 2026 BusinessDay BAFI Awards: The User Numbers and Safety Push Behind the Win
What Did PalmPay Win at the 2026 BusinessDay BAFI Awards?
PalmPay won Digital Payments Platform of the Year at the 2026 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. BusinessDay organised the ceremony on October 9, 2026, at the Civic Center in Lagos. Frank Aigbogun, publisher and co-founder of BusinessDay, presented the award to PalmPay.
The recognition covers PalmPay’s contribution to digital payments growth and financial inclusion in Nigeria. The account of the ceremony comes from a brand-content release published on Techeconomy on October 12, 2026. The sources reviewed did not include a full BAFI winners list or the judging criteria, so those details remain unconfirmed.
What Is PalmPay and How Does It Operate?
PalmPay is a Nigerian digital financial platform that offers payments, bill payments, savings, and micro-insurance through an app and an agent network. It launched in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator (MMO) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Techeconomy’s profile adds that the company is insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
Its products for businesses include the PalmPay Business app, point-of-sale (POS) machines, and Pay With Transfer. Pay With Transfer lets a merchant receive payment through a bank transfer into a dedicated account. The same profile reports a 75% user retention rate for that feature, a company-sourced figure.
How Large Is PalmPay’s Platform?
BusinessDay reported in 2025 that PalmPay serves over 35 million users and processes up to 15 million transactions each day. Techeconomy’s brand profile cites a higher figure, saying more than 40 million Nigerians, about one in five, rely on PalmPay for monthly shopping and utility payments.
The two numbers differ because they come from different sources and dates. Neither article published a methodology. The table lists each figure with its origin.
| Metric | Reported figure | Source and context |
|---|---|---|
| Registered users | Over 35 million | BusinessDay, 2025 |
| Daily transactions | Up to 15 million | BusinessDay, 2025 |
| Monthly reliance | Over 40 million Nigerians | Techeconomy brand profile, 2026 page |
| Pay With Transfer retention | 75% | Techeconomy brand profile, company-sourced |
| Years in Nigeria | 7 (since 2019) | Award release, October 2026 |
What Is the PalmPay Dey For You Campaign?
PalmPay Dey For You is a customer-education campaign about the platform’s security features and safer digital financial habits. The award release links the campaign to the company’s consumer-protection focus. PalmPay’s stated position is that confidence in transaction safety will drive adoption as more Nigerians move financial activity online.
Fraud and account security remain central concerns for mobile money users, which makes this part of the pitch more than a marketing line. The sources reviewed did not publish fraud-loss figures or campaign reach.
What Other Awards Has PalmPay Received Recently?
PalmPay received at least four other honours across 2025 and 2026. The table compares them.
| Award | Awarding body | Date reported | Category focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fintech Company of the Year 2026 | LEADERSHIP | September 21, 2026 | Reach, MSME support, financial inclusion |
| Consumer-Friendly Business of the Year 2025 | Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) | September 30, 2025 | Secure and accessible services |
| Digital Governance Company of the Year (Fintech Innovation) | Nigeria GovTech Awards, run by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms | 2025 | Support for the government’s digital agenda |
| Financial Institution of the Year | Nigerian Marketing Awards | Date not stated in the source | Marketing excellence |
The pattern shows three different judging angles: consumer protection, government technology, and business reach. The BAFI award adds a payments-specific category.
What Role Does PalmPay Play in Nigeria’s New Payment Infrastructure?
PalmPay took part in the first live transaction on the NIBSS National Payment Stack. The transaction on November 7, 2025 was between PalmPay and Wema Bank. The Stack has since passed 100 million transactions, as of September 25, 2026, according to NIBSS. That link places PalmPay among the early participants in the new interbank rail, though the sources reviewed do not give its current share of Stack volume.
Why Do Payment Awards Matter for Users?
Awards signal peer and media recognition, but they do not replace regulatory status or independent performance data. Users can check a provider’s licence on the CBN’s register and deposit insurance status with the NDIC. Reported user counts and transaction totals come mostly from company statements, which readers can weigh against regulator publications when those exist.
Who Organises the BAFI Awards?
BusinessDay organises the BAFI Awards. BAFI stands for Banks and Other Financial Institutions. The 2026 edition took place on October 9 in Lagos.
Is PalmPay Licensed in Nigeria?
Yes, PalmPay operates under a CBN Mobile Money Operator licence. The licence dates from its 2019 launch, according to BusinessDay.
What Open Questions Remain About the Award?
Four details remain unpublished in the coverage reviewed.
- The full list of BAFI 2026 winners.
- The criteria and scoring method for the Digital Payments Platform category.
- The other finalists in the category.
- Updated 2026 figures for users and daily transactions.
Does the Award Confirm PalmPay’s Position in Nigerian Digital Payments?
The award confirms industry recognition for PalmPay in 2026, and the user and transaction figures show scale. Three honours in the past 12 months from different bodies, plus participation in the first live NIBSS Stack transaction, point in the same direction as the BAFI result. The remaining test is independent data: regulator statistics, audited figures, and fraud metrics. Those numbers would show whether recognition tracks customer outcomes, which is the question readers of a payments award story most often want answered.
