Nigerian fintech company, Carbon said on Friday that users topping up their wallets will need to pay a 1 per cent transaction fee from Monday, 5th August, 2019.
The Wallet feature was launched in December 2018 to allow Carbon users to store value in the app and take advantage of very cheap financial transactions.
Prior to the launch of the feature, performing any transactions on Carbon required customers to use their bank debit card, or transfer money from a separate bank account to make a loan repayment or lock in an investment.
Since when it was launched in December, the wallet top ups have attracted zero fees.
“However, this particular service came at a significant cost to us as we pay fees to your debit card issuer and payment processors for every card top up you do in Carbon,” the company explained in an email BusinessDay saw.
Carbon said growing customer base has made bearing the cost unsustainable and hence the “reluctant” decision to pass the cost to the customers. Nevertheless, users will not be charged account maintenance, SMS fees or any other charges traditional banks are well-known for.
“This change will allow us to redirect resources into faster innovation and make Carbon the perfect financial partner for you,” it said.
Meanwhile the company is planning on releasing new features including enabling users to fund their wallet directly from their bank accounts via USSD or bank transfers, removing the need for card top ups. There is also the Carbon debit card which will help user perform transactions anywhere and the launch of QR payments to let users pay merchants across the country by scanning a simple code.
