PalmPay vs Wave
short answerBoth are traditional neobanks. PalmPay is the larger platform (~35M users) and pays yield on balances. Compare custody, license, FX markup and fees field by field below.
PalmPay: 35M+ users; Transsion-backed.
Wave: Radically cheap mobile money; 10M+ users.
Side by side
| PalmPay | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | traditional | traditional |
| Audience | underbanked | underbanked |
| HQ | Lagos, NG | Dakar, SN |
| Founded | 2019 | 2018 |
| Custody | Custodial | Custodial |
| Regulation | Payment institution | E-money institution |
| License detail | Mobile money license (NG) | First non-telecom e-money issuer (BCEAO) |
| Card | Verve/MC · Debit | No card |
| Cashback | Offers | — |
| Yield | Daily interest | — |
| FX markup | — | — |
| Services | — | — |
| Stablecoins | No | No |
| KYC | Yes | Yes |
| Regions | Africa | Africa |
| Reported users | 35M users (2025) | — |
Figures compiled from public sources, for comparison only — not financial advice. "Up to" rates change constantly; always confirm with the issuer. Spotted an error? Suggest a fix.