Grace Ashiru
Palmplay, a fintech start-up based in Nigeria, to help customers improve their overall security knowledge and learn how to spot and avoid e-scammers, PalmPay has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about payment security.
Palmplay has offices in Ghana and the United States, where it raised $100 million in August 2021. The company has already raised a total of $140 million, and this year it plans to expand into other African markets.
The new campaign comes when digital payments and internet use in Africa have grown significantly in recent years. This rapid development in connectivity has resulted in several challenges that could potentially arise, including fake news, the disclosure of personally identifiable information, and financial fraud.
A report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System indicates that the overall number of attempts to commit fraud in Nigeria has increased by 186% between 2019 and 2020. Fraud attempts on mobile devices increased by 330% year over year, while those on the web and at point of sale systems increased by 173% and 215%, respectively. It has recently emerged as a key concern for financial institutions to ensure the safety of the transactions carried out by their customers.
PalmPay will use both online and offline channels, such as the app, social media, official websites, and printed materials, to publicize and expose examples of social media and telecom fraud and how to spot fraudulent behavior, in conjunction with the launch of its wallet safe workshop.
In particular, the organization will strengthen the anti-fraud warning education it provides to vulnerable groups like students and senior residents to effectively enhance people’s knowledge of preventing and managing telecom fraud and cybersecurity and to promote legislative provisions relating to the correct usage of mobile wallet accounts.
According to Chika Nwosu, managing director of PalmPay, the increased use of digital payment methods brings about new risks and security concerns.
“PalmPay is dedicated to providing users with a digital payment experience that is safe and trustworthy. We will keep improving our risk control procedures and look forward to working with law enforcement and cyber security partners to stop fraud and make sure payments are safe.
Nwosu added that it’s not easy to keep users safe from scammers.
The appropriate approaches to fraud monitoring and knowing your customer (KYC) are essential to combat the recent surge in fraudulent activity. Palmplay protects its customers from fraudulent activity and usage of their accounts by third parties by utilizing advanced anti-fraud and know your customer (KYC) technologies, incorporating real-time risk control and abnormal behavior detection, automatically monitors, flags, and freezes high-risk transactions and accounts when necessary.
A person with reason to believe that they or someone else may have been a victim of fraudulent actions is encouraged to get in touch with PalmPay’s customer care via the in-app chat feature, email, social media, or phone center. Palmplay will conduct an investigation and freeze accounts to prevent further financial loss as a result of fraudulent activity and maximize the likelihood of locating and reclaiming lost cash.
