CashAfrica has partnered with fast-food chain Chicken Republic to expand mobile contactless payments in Nigeria, with the fintech company targeting an increase in adoption from an estimated 0.1 per cent to five per cent within the next 18 months.
The rollout, announced in Lagos on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, will allow customers to pay for meals by tapping their Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smartphones at participating Chicken Republic outlets, without relying on conventional bank transfers or physical payment cards.
The service will initially be available at selected locations in Lagos before expanding to Abuja, Ibadan and Ogun State. CashAfrica says customers will not pay transaction fees, while participating merchants will bear the charges.
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the partnership is part of CashAfrica’s strategy to encourage Nigerians to adopt contactless payments by introducing the technology in places they visit regularly. With more than 350 outlets nationwide, Chicken Republic provides the fintech company with an extensive retail network through which it hopes to make mobile payments more familiar to consumers.
CashAfrica chief executive Malik Asamu said the company wanted to move beyond Nigeria’s established payment methods, particularly bank transfers, which have become a routine option for individuals and businesses.
The company already has arrangements with Kuda, Nomba, OPay, PalmPay and Zenith Bank to support tap-to-pay transactions through their banking applications.
However, changing consumer habits remains a significant challenge. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria for 2024 showed that internet transactions accounted for 51.91 per cent of payments, while point-of-sale transactions represented 28.53 per cent and mobile payments made up 15.58 per cent.
Although the CBN figures do not provide a specific share for contactless payments, Asamu estimates that the method accounts for about 0.1 per cent of transactions in Nigeria. He hopes the Chicken Republic partnership and other planned collaborations will help lift adoption to five per cent within 18 months.
CashAfrica says its technology can process payments over 3G networks within two to three seconds, potentially offering customers an alternative when bank transfers are delayed by connectivity problems. The company’s chief technology officer, Bello Opeyemi, also said failed transactions would be subject to reconciliation procedures, with resolution expected within six hours in the worst-case scenario.
Security measures require customers to authenticate payments using a transaction PIN, biometrics or facial recognition. The service, however, depends on NFC-enabled smartphones, meaning customers with incompatible devices will not be able to use it.
To encourage adoption, CashAfrica and Chicken Republic have also agreed to offer customers discounts on qualifying purchases, although the companies have not disclosed the amounts.
Chicken Republic’s head of finance, Solomon Ojelade, said the arrangement was intended to make payments more convenient for customers across its outlets.
CashAfrica is also pursuing partnerships with other quick-service restaurants and supermarkets, while Asamu said the company expected to announce an agreement with a major Nigerian bank and a leading fintech before the end of October.
Whether the initiative can persuade consumers to move beyond transfers and cards remains uncertain. Previous contactless payment efforts, including Paywithcapture and PayAttitude, failed to achieve widespread adoption. CashAfrica is betting that combining smartphone-based technology with everyday purchases, merchant partnerships and customer incentives will produce a different outcome.
