Nigeria’s fintech sector continues to demonstrate strong smartphone penetration, with mobile-first platforms securing the highest adoption rates among financial applications in 2025, according to a new study. The Smartphone Study: A Nationwide Analysis of Smartphone Ownership and Digital Application Usage surveyed 13,251 respondents across 12 major Nigerian cities. The report found that OPay leads the pack, with its application installed on 69% of the smartphones surveyed. This figure places the company significantly ahead of other fintech platforms and individual banking applications, highlighting the growing role of mobile-first financial services in the region.
Market Share Breakdown
According to the research, OPay leads the Nigerian financial app market with a strong presence on 69% of smartphones surveyed, far outpacing competitors. PalmPay follows at 29%, while Moniepoint holds 16%. Traditional bank apps trail behind, with Access Bank and UBA each at 11%, and FirstBank and Zenith Bank at 8% and 6% respectively. OPay’s dominance is striking, as its app appears on more than double the devices compared to PalmPay, its nearest rival in the sector.
The report notes that smartphone ownership rose from 64% in 2023 to 75% in 2025, reflecting a growing shift from feature phones to internet-enabled devices. This expansion of smartphone ownership does not mean digital access is universal, however. The study highlighted that more than a third of mobile subscribers were still using 2G as of May 2026, while infrastructure limitations, affordability, digital literacy and cybersecurity remain barriers to wider digital participation. Despite these hurdles, the country had about 157 million internet subscribers as of May 2026, with data consumption exceeding 1.5 million terabytes.
Growth Metrics and Revenue
OPay’s strong smartphone presence comes on the back of its expansion as a digital financial services platform offering payments, transfers, cards, savings and other services to consumers and businesses. The company processed $358 billion in gross transaction value (GTV) in 2025, more than double the $166.2 billion recorded in 2024. Active transacting users also increased from 25.1 million in 2024 to 39.3 million in 2025. This growth in domestic adoption creates a larger fintech opportunity, as OPay accounted for 88.1% of its revenue in 2025.
Orange said the findings reflect a broader convergence between traditional banking and fintech as smartphones increasingly become the primary gateway for financial interactions. Consumers now use mobile apps for routine tasks such as sending money, paying bills, buying airtime and managing accounts. Earlier this year, OPay announced exceeding 45 million users and over one million partnered businesses in Nigeria, further illustrating its massive footprint. The KPMG report reinforces OPay’s dominant position in a financial ecosystem increasingly shaped by mobile technology.
