Keepaza targets payment identity gap in Nigeria’s fintech sector

Nigeria’s fintech sector has expanded in payments and digital banking, but a gap remains in payment identity infrastructure. Keepaza, founded by Akindele Liasu, is building a system designed to allow users to share bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallet addresses using a single username.

Liasu said the issue is not only about payment processing but about context. “Most organisations operating in Africa don’t actually have a communications problem. They have a context problem,” he said.

He explained that payment details are often shared through informal channels. “Today, that question is answered almost universally through WhatsApp messages, Instagram DMs, voice notes, and group chats,” Liasu noted. “Bank account numbers, sort codes, and increasingly, cryptocurrency wallet addresses are shared in conversations built for social interaction rather than financial verification. The exposure risk is real. The error risk is real.”

Keepaza presents a system where each user is assigned a username that resolves to linked financial details. This includes bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets across networks such as TRC20, ERC20, BEP20, Bitcoin, and Solana. The system generates a link in the format keepaza.com/username.

“The person paying sees exactly what they need. The person receiving shares nothing sensitive in a social channel,” Liasu said.

The platform is currently offered without charge. According to Liasu, the approach is intended to increase adoption before revenue introduction. The planned revenue structure includes paid username registration, commission from cryptocurrency swaps through third-party integrations, and licensing of application programming interfaces to financial institutions and fintech firms.

Liasu described identity infrastructure as a system that grows through use. “Identity infrastructure, unlike transaction infrastructure, benefits from network effects in both directions,” he said. “The more users claim usernames, the more valuable the resolution service becomes to institutions building on top of it.”

He said the development of Keepaza involved personal financial commitment. Liasu restructured his United Arab Emirates business operations under OH Mobility FZ LLC and redirected founder capital into the project. “I did not want to be the founder who came to investors with only an idea and a pitch deck,” he stated. “I wanted to come with a working product, real users, documented traction, and money I had already put in myself.”

Keepaza also includes invoicing tools aimed at small businesses, freelancers, and vendors. The system allows users to generate payment request links for clients. The tool is designed for use in both local and cross-border transactions.

“For a freelance designer in Lagos pursuing international clients, this difference between a WhatsApp voice note explaining a wallet address and a professional invoice link is not trivial,” Liasu said.

Nigeria’s fintech sector has developed across payment processing and digital banking, but attention is now shifting to infrastructure that supports trust in transactions. Keepaza positions itself within this layer, focusing on how payment details are shared and verified.

Liasu said plans are in place to raise an institutional funding round in the coming months. He said the aim is to build a system that supports digital commerce users across different sectors and transaction types.

Keepaza continues development as it tests adoption among users and businesses within Nigeria’s digital economy.