Kudimoney, a leading Nigeria Fintech company has metamorphosed into Kuda after being granted a license by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The startup was founded by Babatunde Ogundeyi in 2017.
Kuda is among the many fintech startups that are bridging the gap between the banked and the unbanked in Nigeria due to the fact that they are ‘willing to get their hands dirty’. In other words, they are prepared to tread the path where traditional banks won’t.
Fintech companies offer loans within 24hrs to 48hrs with little or no hassle, they provide financial products that are customer-focused without too many paperwork and of course they don’t shy away from rural areas.
Joining Kuda in shrinking the financial gap is Paga, a Nigerian Fintech founded in 2012 by Tayo Oviosu. Today, Paga is closing the rural and urban divide when it comes to the provision of financial services. Their payment kiosk or centers where you can easily send and receive money are not only concentrated in urban areas but also rural communes.
Till date, Paga has created a multi-channel network and platform to transfer money, pay bills, and buy things digitally that’s already serving 9 million customers in Nigeria—including 6000 businesses. All of whom can drop into one of Paga’s 17,167 agents or transfer funds from one of Paga’s mobile apps.
https://twitter.com/KudimoneyBank/status/1140951595145998336
For Kuda, acquiring the CBN license gives them an opportunity to offer a wide range of financial products predominantly on smartphones even though the startup has a USSD channel.
“We have built our core systems from the ground up, based on 21st-century technology, rather than simply building over existing legacy software. This “full stack” approach means we can process enormous amounts of data in real time and send you actionable information and analytics that help you stay on top of finances. All whilst staying secure and reliable”, the fintech startup said in a blog post announcing the name change and the receipt of the license.
On why the digital bank changed its name, the blog post says that the “change was due to the frequent adoption of the “Kudi” name by other FinTech startups,” even though it was “in love” with the name ‘Kudimoney’.
Kuda is not the first fintech startup in Nigeria that has undergone a name change recently.
Piggybank.ng, an online savings and investment platform, announced a change of its name to PiggyVest.
According to the owners of the company, the new trading makes Piggybank.ng a much broader and holistic financial management platform.
Additionally, Paylater took the first step to becoming a fully digital bank by rebranding to become “Carbon”. The new brand will now offer bill payments, fund transfer, and savings products, in addition to loans.
The competition in fintech is definitely heating up as banks are also innovating to counter the revolutionary impact of these new breeds of financial providers.
As Kuda looks to the future, it will surely give banks a run for their money but it doesn’t take away or diminish the fact that they still need to collaborate and work with the bank to provide seamless financial services.
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