Grace Ashiru
Prospa, the Y Combinator-backed business banking startup, is facing complaints and social media callouts due to persistent delays in processing customer withdrawals. Four customers reported that their withdrawals have not been processed since May 2024, despite the company’s claims of service downtime.
This isn’t the first time customers have encountered such delays. In February 2024, the company also cited service downtime as the reason for slow transaction speeds, with customers having to wait weeks to access their withdrawals.
Prospa has not immediately responded to a request for comments. Business owners using Prospa for deposits and other services like company registration, virtual storefronts, invoicing, bookkeeping, sub-accounts, and working loans are increasingly concerned about delays.
In March, a customer who had ₦800,000 in his Prospa account told TechCabal, “Either their [customer care] phone lines were switched off or they responded saying they have NIP server issues. I called my friend who works at NIBSS [the country’s payment aggregator], and they said Prospa had no such issues.”
Affected users reported that the delays were resolved in mid-March, with some visiting the company’s Yaba office and others forming virtual support groups to share updates.
However, in May, customers began experiencing delays again, with some withdrawals taking up to three weeks to process. “At this point, the customer care reps are just engaging complaints because they have to, and not to actually help,” an affected user told TechCabal.
Similar to the previous instance, many customers are visiting Prospa’s office to demand a resolution.
“When they come around, our account managers attend to them and resolve their complaints,” an employee informed TechCabal.
A former employee dismissed comparisons to Brass, a business banking startup that faced working capital challenges before being acquired by new investors.
“Prospa has never experienced capital issues. Their problems were solely technical,” a former Prospa employee who worked in Credit explained to TechCabal. “They are partnering with commercial banks, so most times, the engineering team says the issues stem from those banks.”
Previously, Prospa has partnered with Wema Bank and Parkway Ready Cash. According to its website, it currently partners with Good News Microfinance Bank.
