You have probably heard about Fintech and wondered what it is all about. There are hundreds of fintech apps in Nigeria that people are using everyday.
What is fintech?
Fintech is a combination of two words: Financial and Technology.
According to Investopedia, “Financial technology is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, fintech is utilized to help companies, business owners and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes, and lives by utilizing specialized software and algorithms that are used on computers and, increasingly, smartphones.”.
Simply put, Fintech is the application of technology in finance. If you are smartphone user, chances are that you are using fintech everyday. An example is your bank app. When you download, install and use your bank’s mobile app to transfer money, pay bills, buy airtime, save money, etc, you are using fintech.
There has been a boom in the number of fintech apps in Nigeria in the past few years. Everyday, we have new fintech companies springing up and offering a wide range of financial services.
Many Nigerians are now doing a lot of financial transactions and activities with their phones. These are activities that would have been deemed impossible, just few years ago.
Personally, I use quite a number of fintech apps to suit different purposes hence I get to see lots of adverts from Fintech companies and brands whenever I log onto the internet. I see different apps that offer same services and get to make my choice. I believe everyone with a smartphone should have at least one fintech app that they use regularly. You cannot be using a smartphone and not utilize the benefits.
With just a fintech app, you can sit in the comfort of your home and do whatever financial transactions you want rather than going to face the stress of joining long queues at banks.
I recommended a fintech app to a colleague recently to help solve an issue. He downloaded and installed the app. Within few minutes of using the app, he got the solution he was looking for. He exclaimed, “Wow! This is like magic!”.
Examples of fintech apps in Nigeria
The basic is the bank app. Every bank has a mobile app to enable customers use their services.
If you want to save money, there are automated savings apps like Piggyvest, Cowrywise, etc.
For loans, there are apps like Branch, Fairmoney, Carbon, Aellacredit, etc.
For payment of bills and sales of products, there are apps like Flutterwave, Quickteller, Sellar, Interswitch, etc.
There are also apps for investments.
There are apps for trading in forex, stocks, cryptocurrency, like Patricia, etc.
This is the era of technology and you must not be left out, embrace Financial Technology!
Iniobong Leroi Umoh is a storyteller, a satirist and creative writer. He blurs the line between reality and fiction and seeks to create a connection with the reader through engaging content. His works have been featured across various online and offline platforms. He hopes to one day travel around the world on a luxury yacht, sipping expensive wine and documenting all his experiences in a journal.
You can send him a mail at infoleric@gmail.com.
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