Breaking Down Kuda's Q1 2025 Performance
During a recent media briefing in Lagos, Babs Ogundeyi, Kuda's CEO, offered a detailed breakdown of these figures, distinguishing between its retail and business banking platforms. Retail banking users generated N8.5 trillion in transactions, while business clients contributed N5.8 trillion.
Transfers remain a dominant feature on the platform, largely offered for free to users. Notably, business banking alone accounted for N1.5 trillion in transfers. Interestingly, Kuda reported processing more paid transfers than free ones, suggesting a growing willingness among Nigerian users to pay for the convenience of sending money. "For free transfers, we moved about almost a trillion Naira in transfers. And then on non-free transfers, we did over 3 trillion Naira. So even though we have free, we actually have a lot more non-free," Ogundeyi explained.
Overdrafts and Interest Payouts underscore Financial Health
With a customer base of seven million, Kuda also shared insights into its overdraft services. As of Q1 2025, the bank issued nearly N17 billion in overdrafts, with a positive net interest on a month-on-month basis. Ogundeyi highlighted the importance of this metric, stating, "It’s an important factor for us because it’s the bedrock of what a financial institution is, at least if you call yourself a bank. The better your credit model is, the better you are as a bank. It’s very important, and we’re still scaling it. Compared to last quarter, we gave almost 50% more credit in this quarter." Additionally, Kuda paid out N130 million in interest to users during the first quarter.
These figures represent Kuda's most comprehensive operational update to date, marking the first time the neobank has publicly shared such detailed financial transaction data. Previously, Kuda primarily focused on announcing user growth milestones, such as surpassing seven million users by January 2024.
Navigating Nigeria's Competitive Fintech Landscape
Kuda operates within Nigeria's intensely competitive fintech market, where rivals like Moniepoint, PalmPay, and OPay are rapidly expanding their reach through extensive agent networks and mobile money services. PalmPay recently announced processing 15 million transactions daily, translating to approximately 1.3 billion transactions quarterly, and serves 35 million customers. OPay, another prominent mobile money operator, boasts a user base of over 50 million and a network of 500,000 agents across Nigeria.
In contrast, Kuda has maintained its strategy of an app-first, digital-only model, focusing on retail banking and credit services without a physical agent network. Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) reveals the scale of the broader mobile money ecosystem, with licensed operators in the country processing transactions valued at N71.5 trillion in 2024.
Kuda's impressive Q1 2025 performance suggests that its digital-only approach is gaining significant traction amidst fierce competition. As the fintech landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Kuda's strategy continues to play out against its agent-network-driven competitors.