PalmPay, a fintech innovator, has announced the launch of Wallet Safe Workshop, a monthly campaign for payment security awareness training, to help customers improve their overall security knowledge, and learn about how to spot and avoid e-scammers.

The penetration of the internet and digital payment in Africa has significantly increased in recent years. A number of potential issues, including fake news, leakage of personal information and financial scams, have emerged as a result of this rapid expansion in connectivity.

According to the NIBSS (Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System) report, the total number of fraud attempts in Nigeria grew by 186% from 2019 to 2020. Mobile fraud attempts jumped 330% year over year, while web and POS fraud attempts rose 173% and 215% respectively. It has become a top priority for financial institutions to guarantee the security of user transactions.

With the launch of the Wallet Safe Workshop, PalmPay will use both online and offline channels, including the app, social media, official websites, and printed materials, to publicize and expose examples of social media and telecom fraud, as well as how to spot fraudulent behavior.

In particular, the company will improve anti-fraud warning education for vulnerable groups such as students and senior citizens, and promote legal provisions related to the proper use of mobile wallet accounts, to effectively raise people’s awareness of combating and managing telecom fraud and cybersecurity.

“The expanding use of digital payments brings new risk and security concerns. PalmPay committed to delivering users with a secure and trustworthy digital payment experience. We will continue to optimise our risk control procedures, and look forward to collaborating with law enforcement and cybersecurity partners to prevent fraud and ensure payment security”.
Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay

Robust anti-fraud and KYC systems

PalmPay noted in a statement that keeping users safe from fraudsters is not an easy task as such, the right fraud monitoring and know your customer (KYC) approaches are key to overcoming the current rise in fraud attempts.

With robust anti-fraud and KYC systems, PalmPay protects the users from fraud and unauthorized use with various protective measures, including real-time risk control and abnormal behaviour detection, which automatically monitors, flags, and freezes high-risk transactions and accounts.

PalmPay stated that if a person suspects that they or someone else has been a victim of fraudulent activities, they should contact its customer service via in-app chat, email, social media, or call centre. PalmPay will investigate and freeze accounts to avoid additional loss due to fraudulent activities and to maximise the chances of tracing and retrieving funds, it added.

PalmPay is a fintech innovator that aims to make digital payment more accessible and flexible for consumers and merchants. It improves users’ digital payment experiences by offering instant financial account creation, money transfers, and bill payments.

Since launching in 2019, PalmPay has quickly established itself as one of the continent’s leading and fastest-growing payment providers.

PalmPay raised a US$100 million Series A round of funding in August 2021, with US$140 million raised in total. The company is now operating in Nigeria and Ghana, and will be scaling its proposition in other African markets in 2022.