Nomba adds Apple Pay as Nigerian businesses seek easier global payments

Nigerian merchants can now accept Apple Pay payments through Nomba, as the fintech expands its payments stack to support Apple’s contactless payment service across in-store and online checkouts.

The integration allows merchants on Nomba’s platform to receive payments from Apple Pay users without requiring physical cards or initiating bank transfers to access instant payments from their global customers, including diaspora Nigerians.

“Payments globally are moving toward speed, security, and invisible checkout,” said Pelumi Aboluwarin, Nomba’s CTO. “Our responsibility is to ensure Nigerian merchants are not left behind, but are fully prepared for the future of payments.”

Nomba is the latest Nigerian fintech to support Apple Pay, following Stripe-owned Paystack’s integration in 2021 and a similar launch by cross-border payments fintech Platnova in July 2025. While Apple Pay is widely used in markets such as North America, Europe, and parts of Asia, its adoption in Nigeria has been limited by regulatory constraints and infrastructure challenges.

Unlike a full consumer rollout that would require Nigerian banks to issue Apple Pay-enabled cards, Nomba’s integration focuses on merchant acceptance. Customers globally can pay Nigerian businesses using Apple Pay on their iPhones, authenticated with Face ID linked to their stored card details.  For Nigerian merchants using Nomba, the feature works across physical point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online checkouts.

The integration was enabled through strategic global partnerships and regulatory alignment with licenced foreign entities already approved within Apple’s payments ecosystem. While Nomba did not disclose its partners, Aboluwarin said the company worked with them to “carry out the deep technical and operational work required to extend Apple Pay capabilities into Nigeria in a compliant and scalable way.”

Nomba said integrating Apple Pay in Nigeria required meeting some of the most stringent global security, compliance, and certification standards in payments. The company added that its Money Transmitter (MTL) and Money Services Business (MSB) licences in the United States enable it to partner with global payment processors operating under defined service-level agreements (SLAs).

For Nigerian businesses, accepting international payments often means delayed settlements, withheld funds, and unfavourable foreign exchange rates due to transactions being routed through upstream processors outside the country. Nomba believes its Apple Pay integration will reduce these frictions by allowing faster checkout and improving settlement reliability.

“Even when settlements from upstream processors are delayed, we ensure merchants are paid on time using our own funds,” the company said.

According to Aboluwarin, the addition of Apple Pay is expected to improve customer experience and merchant revenue, particularly for businesses that serve tourists and returning diaspora Nigerians. In 2024, Nigerians living abroad spent ₦60 billion during their December homecoming visits, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). 

Faster checkout, shorter queues, and fewer payment failures could make a meaningful difference for merchants during such high-traffic periods, Nomba added.