PayDay, a Nigerian neobank, has raised $3 million in a seed funding spherical led by Moniepoint. TechCabal exclusively reported three weeks in the past that Payday was trying to increase $1.5 million in a seed spherical and at present’s announcement disclosed that the spherical was finally oversubscribed.
Different buyers embrace Techstars, HoaQ, DFS Lab’s Stellar Africa Fund, Ingressive Capital Fund II, MFS Africa chief; Dare Okoudjou, Norebase CEO; Tola Onayemi, and present buyers; Techstars and Angels Contact. TechCrunch reports that with this increase, PayDay has acquired a complete of $5 million since its inception two years in the past.
Payday permits Africans entry to world accounts denominated in USD, EUR, and GBP. With the flexibility to transact in over 20 currencies, Payday’s platform is significant for distant staff and freelancers who want international foreign money transactions. The app is presently solely obtainable to clients in Rwanda and Nigeria. Along with these providers, Payday additionally affords digital greenback and naira playing cards for Nigerian customers, facilitating purchases on worldwide platforms, foreign money swaps, cost hyperlinks, native invoice funds, and peer-to-peer transfers.
Competitors and a rejected acquisition
PayDay’s options put it in competitors with VC-backed B2C fintech apps resembling Gray, Lemonade Finance, Ship by Flutterwave, and Chipper Money. The corporate has ramped up its social media advertising push over the previous few months and claims it has tripled its consumer depend to over 300,000 since final yr. PayDay admitted to TechCrunch that its advertising spending is consuming deep into its pocket however the founder Favour Ori insists that the corporate stays worthwhile.
According to Ori, PayDay has been worthwhile since August 2022 by the charges it expenses on transactions they usually have quadrupled with its rising consumer base. The startup reportedly processes a median of 40,000 transactions each day and over $25 million month-to-month.
It just lately turned an official cost accomplice for SpaceX’s Starlink, enabling customers in Nigeria and Rwanda to buy Starlink routers. It claims to have processed near $1 million already for Starlink.
Ori additionally acknowledged that, resulting from its profitability, the startup has acquired and turned down a $15 million acquisition provide by an African unicorn.
Payday says it plans to make use of the increase to ramp up its advertising efforts, safe operational licensing in each the UK and Canada, and enhance its employees.