Saving is an important way to enjoy financial security in life and its benefits cannot be overemphasized. For some people, saving comes naturally, while others require more motivation to save a fraction of their income.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 40% of the total population, or almost 83 million people, live below the country’s poverty line of N137,430 ($335.48) per year. This makes it difficult for many people to save as there isn’t enough to meet their needs in the first instance.
Top saving apps to watch out for…
Despite the challenges with putting money aside for the rainy day, saving improves your financial situation over time and makes it easier for you to accumulate wealth. In recent times, fintech startups in Nigeria have stepped in to make saving easier and more acceptable to Nigerians. This article will examine the top performers among them.
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PiggyVest
PiggyVest is the largest single online savings & investment platform in Nigeria. The company is on a mission ‘to give everyone the power to better manage & grow their finances.’
Launched in 2016, Piggyvest has continued to deliver excellent service to their 1,000,000 users and counting, helping them manage their finances with simplicity and transparency. With over 500,000 downloads on the Playstore and over ₦1,000,000,000 securely saved in PiggyVest every month alone, PiggyVest users save funds that they would normally be tempted to spend recklessly.
Interest Rates
All the savings and investment options on PiggyVest are tailored towards a particular need. Depending on the savings plan you choose, interest rates are from 10% to over 13% per annum on your savings.
Features
- Piggybank wallet –Â If you’d like to regularly put away money for your savings and withdraw only once a quarter, then the piggybank wallet is right for you. You can give a standing order for your desired amount to be debited automatically from your account and credited to your piggybank wallet.
- Target Savings –Â If you’re saving towards a particular goal such as rent or travel, this is a great option. You can invite friends and make it a fun challenge to smash all your financial goals.
- SafeLock –Â If you’re looking for something geared towards the long term, the SafeLock feature is perfect for you. With higher interest rates, you could lock away funds you don’t need access to and make even more money doing so.
- Flex Dollar –Â Flex Dollar is a feature that lets you save, invest and transfer funds in dollars. You get up to 7% per annum on your PiggyVest Flex Dollar account. Interest rates are determined by the market behaviour at any given time.
Cowrywise
Cowrywise is the wealth management app that enables you to plan, save and invest money easily. With direct access to the largest pool of mutual funds in Nigeria, you can build your savings and investment portfolios, manage your money securely and build a better financial future.
Interest Rates
The platform has an interest calculator that determines how much interest you can earn in a specific period.
Features
Cowrywise offers different types of saving circles tailored to anyone.
- Regular Savings –Â With this, you can set your saving plan to be daily, weekly or monthly for a minimum of 3 months. You only need to specify this once during the set-up of your plan and Cowrywise will ensure that this money is saved automatically on those specified days in your Cowrywise savings plan.
- Halal Savings – Halal savings is an interest-free savings plan. This plan is designed for Muslims who don’t want to earn interest on their savings. This saving plan saves your money without accruing any interest profit at the end of the saving circle.
- Saving Circles – This plan lets you set saving targets open to everyone. It’s sought of a savings challenge people can engage in. Participants will also earn at the end of the savings circle.
Kuda Bank
Kuda Bank is a free, digital-only bank with a microfinance banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Kuda includes tools for tracking your spending habits, saving more, and making the right financial decisions.
The platform offers you up to 25 free transfers to other banks every month. With over 1M downloads on the Playstore
Interest Rates
Kuda offers up to 15% annual interest on your savings.
Features
- Spend+Save – Is an exclusive feature that saves money for you automatically every time you spend from your Kuda account. To use this feature, set a percentage to save when you spend. You can withdraw from your Spend+Save savings.
- Flexible savings – With flexible savings, you can save towards a goal and earn up to 10% interest.
- Fixed savings –Â With fixed savings, you can save a lump sum for a fixed time and earn up to 15% interest.
Crowdyvest
Crowdyvest is an impact-driven cooperative society that creates financial solutions for a community of individuals and organizations that are committed to long-term growth and financial freedom in alignment with the 17 SDGs.
Interest Rates
Interest is accrued daily with rates between 12.5 to 15% per annum.
Features
Crowdyvest offers different savings plans.
- Flex –Â The Flex Plan allows you to save and withdraw your funds anytime you want. Save and watch your money grow.
- Flex Dollar –Â The Flex Dollar Plan allows you to save in dollars on your own terms and earn super decent interests.
- Vault –Â The Vault Plan allows you to lock in a fixed amount for a number of months and get your interest paid upfront.
- Pace –Â Set and meet targets with recurring automated deductions on your locked plan starting from 3 months.
Vestpay
Vestpay is a saving and investment application that solves the issue of safe investment opportunities, savings culture, and wealth creation prevalent in this part of the world. In essence, Vestpay helps you keep your future in your pocket. They offer a smart way to save towards your goals, pay bills, get loans and invest.
Interest Rates
Vestpay offers 15% on target savings and a variety of investments opportunities ranging from livestock to crop and real estate.
Features
- Regular Savings – This feature allows you to set your preferred saving method, daily, weekly, or monthly that will help you make better life decisions through consistent savings.
- Savings Targets (Fixed Deposit) – This feature allows you to save towards a specific goal. You can choose to save towards a specific financial goal or target (rents, school fees, special events, etc.).
Bottom Line
Saving money is important because it protects you in the event of a financial emergency and it plays an important role in promoting the economic growth of any nation.
Nice list Janet. But you missed a very important one – Pettysave.
Pettysave is one of the best apps for savings and investments and their returns are way better than most of the ones listed in this article. You can check them out and see what I mean.
Nice one? but remove Vestpay because they are not trustworthy and investors’ money are been stuck there and still now, we are not sure weather we are getting our money back or we have been scam by vestpay.
I am writing report about them so that Nairametrics can follow up and prevent other investors from investing with them.
Thank you.
Please remove vest pay cause they have totally owed investors and are still owing , they are not weel founded for now i have tried them and will never try them again cause they have failed totally
And where is CashBox on this list???? I lost interest the moment i didn’t see CashBox… Do more research next time please.