Many bank account holders in Nigeria usually call or refer to their bank with abbreviation letters. For example, United Bank for Africa is often called UBA and First City Monument Bank is referred to as FCMB. This abbreviation letters are also expected to be called by PalmPay users and that's why most account holders are searching for another name for PalmPay in Nigeria.
Like many other popular banks in Nigeria that are being called with their abbreviation letters, PalmPay does announce any short form of its name. However, you can simply refer to PalmPay as PMY. Here, you can learn more about the 3 letters of PalmPay Name.
Yes, with that being said, another name for PalmPay in Nigeria is PalmPay Limited. This is the legal name that's registered with the corporate affair commission (CAC) of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The PalmPay Limited is also the recognized name with the Nigerian Deposition Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
From another perspective, PalmPay can also be referred to as PalmPay Microfinance Bank. Although, the fintech does not possesses a MFB license, but it's offering financial services related to that of a MFB. PalmPay is also an online bank, preferably called a digital or noebank in Nigeria.
In a nutshell, PalmPay can be called PMY as a short-form, the fintech name can go as PalmPay Microfinance Bank for some people and some users can call it an online bank. While all these names are referring to PalmPay, the only legal names that is approved and recognized by authority and in which the fintech is doing business are "PalmPay Limited" and "PalmPay" respectively.
Is PalmPay a Microfinance Bank?
No, PalmPay is not a Microfinance Bank (MFB) in Nigeria. The fintech company operates as a mobile money operator in the country. However, many people refers to the fintech as a MFB because it offers financial services related to that of a Microfinance Bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed the fintech company in 2019 as a mobile money operator (MMO) when it was incepted. Although, as a MMO in Nigeria, you can carryout various financial services including Deposit Money Bank (DMB), Inter-bank transfer, USSD Banking, provision of ATM Card and lot more.
PalmPay is offering these financial services to the banked and under-banked areas of Nigeria. This is the major reason many people thing that PalmPay is a Microfinance Bank in Nigeria. However, do note that a MFB offers financial services beyond PalmPay's financial offerings. For example, Kuda Bank is licensed as a MFB, and because of that, the Neobank can offer Loan and Credit directly from it mobile app. Meanwhile, PalmPay is only offering Loans through a third-party platform.
Another typical example of how Microfinance Bank License is more useful than a Mobile Money Operator License is the ability of ALAT, another digital bank in Nigeria owned and managed by WEMA Bank, to create a savings account - both in Naira and USD - for it users. Meanwhile, PalmPay can only credit a digital wallet, also known as E-wallet for it users. Here, you can learn more about PalmPay Bank.
However, one thing is for sure, MFB, MMO, Digital Bank in Nigeria, Industrial Bank, Loan App, Commercial Banks, Merchant Bank, Mortgage Bank and any other financial institutions in Nigeria possess a Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) code. Here, you can learn more about NIBSS code, also known as Nigerian's Sort Code.
