Paystack Introduces Zap, Its New Transfer Solution App

The Nigerian fintech startup Paystack, which is owned by Stripe, has released Zap, a consumer app that enables safe and quick bank transfers in less than 30 seconds. After concentrating on merchant-based solutions for almost ten years, Paystack is making its first significant foray into consumer payments with this launch.

The CEO of Paystack, Shola Akinlade, during the in-person and virtual launch event emphasized the app’s exclusive focus on streamlining bank transfers, made a wager nine years ago that internet payments would be easy, and it paid off when Stripe acquired the company for $200 million. In order to support its next development phase, his startup is now placing a wager on customers using its new app, Zap, to transfer money, a change for the fintech company renowned for its business-focused solutions.

Zap excels at one thing: sending money in ten seconds to any Nigerian bank account. Consumers may fund their Zap accounts by putting funds straight into a Paystack-Titan account or by connecting their Nigerian bank accounts to Zap using Paystack’s direct debit technology. Akinlade explained to TechCabal how Paystack can retain deposits by saying, “We already have a partnership with Titan Trust Bank, and we extended that partnership to Zap.”

“We have been developing infrastructure for merchants for years, and we are now thrilled to demonstrate to you how this same infrastructure can change your daily life,” Akinlade stated. “Zap has no intention of becoming a neobank. Its sole concentration is on quick bank transactions. ensuring that payments are as simple and dependable as feasible.

With an upgrade on March 3, 2025, Zap was first made available on November 14, 2024. More than 1,000 people have already downloaded the app from the Google Play Store.

Paystack’s entry into consumer payments is in line with a larger pattern among fintech firms that have previously developed consumer-focused solutions, such as Flutterwave and OPay. However, Paystack’s reputation has been established by its strong merchant infrastructure, which includes its popular API that handled over 3 billion queries with 99.992% uptime.

Paystack Vault can only be used to link commercial bank accounts; neobanks like OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint are not included in the list of approved institutions. Customers pay ₦50 in fees for both depositing and withdrawing ₦10,000. Depositing ₦10,000 through a linked account costs ₦35, and withdrawing ₦9,900 costs an extra ₦25. Because of this price, customers find Zap more costly than OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint, which have previously shown to be more cost-effective options. “The price will change,” Akinlade stated.

Additionally, the business emphasized the success of its Paystack-Titan virtual accounts, which were created in collaboration with Titan Trust Bank and have a 98% transfer confirmation rate in less than ten seconds. Akinlade claims that this performance outperforms that of conventional card networks as Verve, MasterCard, and Visa.

Also, users may link credit or debit cards from any nation to Zap. Akinlade demonstrated how to rapidly move funds from his Bank of America card to a Nigerian account during the company’s Evening With Paystack. Akinlade told TechCabal that Paystack is not yet entering the remittance business, despite the fact that the card function allows Nigerians living outside to link their cards and transfer money home instantaneously, much like a remittance service.

We’re not aiming for the remittance situation today. In a perfect world, foreigners would visit Nigeria and use Zap to make transfers. You can wait a few minutes if you’re transferring money to Nigeria from overseas. Immediate delivery is our first goal,” he stated.

Customers must first complete know-your-customer (KYC) checks before they may send or deposit money on the app. Tier-1 customers can transmit up to ₦50,000 per day and keep a maximum amount of ₦200,000. They do this by simply using their Bank Verification Number (BVN) for verification. 

Limits increase to ₦200,000 per day and ₦500,000 for Tier-2 users, who are required to submit a selfie, physical address, and National Identification Number (NIN). After confirming their address, Tier-3 customers are able to transmit up to ₦5 million per day and hold up to ₦100 million in their accounts.

More than half of the transactions completed by Paystack in 2023 were bank transfers, which doubled from 28% in 2022 to 58% in 2023. With a number of products, including Paystack Terminal, its effort at in-person payments, and connections with other fintechs, such as OPay, the firm has expanded its pay-by-account infrastructure in the two years since that time.

All of these products were developed using Paystack’s pay-by-bank infrastructure, which helped the payment channel overtake card networks such as Visa and Mastercard. Akinlade told TechCabal, “Building dependable infrastructure is important (to Paystack): starting from the bottom with the infrastructure, then delivering great experiences, then crossing borders.”

The software reflects Paystack’s goal to create an ecosystem of financial services, even though encouraging users to use Zap straight from their phones might boost income for the fintech owned by Stripe. Paystack will be able to have more control over the money flow inside its network thanks to consumer-focused payments, after years of dominating Nigeria’s online payment processing market.

The money never leaves Paystack’s ecosystem when a Chowdeck user transfers it from their Zap account to their Paystack-Titan account. With the help of Paystack’s APIs, which process transactions quicker than you can blink, and a bank transfer infrastructure that confirms 98% of transactions in less than 10 seconds, this closed-loop architecture has the potential to enhance the online payment experience.

The user experience is additionally streamlined by Zap’s simple webpage. A single “Send Money” button is located at the bottom, recent transactions take up the majority of the screen, and the customer’s balance is displayed in the upper left corner.

Even though bank transfers are popular now, there are still several issues with them. Since transmitting money is the only item visible when you open Zap, we created it to be your go-to tool. I ought to take out my phone without having to take any extra steps. That’s all,” Akinlade declared. 

In Nigeria’s fiercely competitive consumer banking and payments sector, Zap puts Paystack in direct rivalry with fintechs like PalmPay, Kuda, OPay, and Moniepoint. During the 2023 cash crunch, its new competitors expanded quickly by providing exactly what Paystack currently seeks to provide: dependable and quick transactions.

With millions of users—Kuda has 7.2 million users, and OPay has over 30 million—these fintechs have established themselves in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem despite differing strategies and achievements. The secret to Paystack’s success will be to swiftly set itself out in this cutthroat market.

Akinlade thinks that providing an exceptional transfer experience will be key to Zap’s success. “Other fintechs are not our competitors. People who transmit money often and are always on the go—imagine Nigerians traveling around Africa—are our ideal users. People who are passionate about wonderful experiences—taste, speed, and dependability—are our target audience.

Paystack will need to re-evaluate its pricing approach and compete on more than just design and user experience if Zap wants to succeed in Nigeria’s consumer market. Affordability is more significant than beauty, as inflation puts increasing financial strain on millions of Nigerians.

Akinlade isn’t discouraged, though. “A large portion of our work is influencing the nation’s experience. I think it’s crucial that Nigerian culture is as sophisticated as that of other countries. Zap will continue to improve.

Paystack wants to strengthen its position in Nigeria’s cutthroat consumer fintech sector and reach more people outside of enterprises with Zap.

Paystack was founded in 2015 and has grown to become one of Nigeria’s top fintech companies, mainly providing payment processing solutions to retailers. It has fuelled transactions in a market where e-payments currently total more than ₦1.07 quadrillion after being acquired by Stripe in 2020.

Paystack concentrated on backend solutions for enterprises, in contrast to rivals like Flutterwave and Opay, who gave priority to consumer products early on. Zap is the company’s reaction to Nigeria’s changing payment environment, where bank transfers are becoming more and more popular in low-trust settings that necessitate immediate verification. This puts Paystack in a position to meet the rising demand from customers for dependable, quick payment methods.