Carbon, a prominent digital financial services company in Nigeria, has marked a significant milestone by launching its iOS application. This achievement positions Carbon as the first digital lender in Africa capable of initiating and completing an entire loan cycle on the iOS platform, a feat that has garnered considerable attention within the fintech sector.

Previously known as Paylater, the company revolutionized instant lending services through mobile apps, enabling users to access quick loans within minutes. Historically, Carbon's services were exclusively available to Android users across Nigeria and its other operating markets. This strategic focus on Android was primarily due to the platform's dominant market share in these regions; for instance, approximately 81% of smartphone users in Nigeria, 86.8% in Ghana, and 84% in Kenya utilize Android devices. Consequently, like many other loan applications in Africa, Carbon initially leveraged Android to capitalize on the continent's rapidly growing smartphone penetration, successfully amassing over 2.1 million users and disbursing more than $120 million in instant loans.

However, since 2019, Carbon has been actively diversifying its digital financial offerings to encompass payments, a digital wallet, and investment opportunities, a strategic expansion that prompted its rebranding from Paylater to Carbon. This broader service portfolio subsequently created a compelling demand for an iOS application to cater to a wider customer base. The company acknowledged a significant interest from both existing and prospective customers for an iOS app, aligning with its 2020 objective to expand Carbon's availability across all major platforms and into multiple countries.

A critical challenge for African payday lenders in developing iOS applications stems from Apple's stringent user privacy and permission protocols, which differ significantly from Google's more permissive approach. While Google often grants lenders broad access to user data crucial for loan decisions, Apple maintains tighter controls. To overcome this hurdle and successfully launch on iOS, Carbon had to innovate its credit rating and loan recovery methodologies. Henry Uku, Carbon's Growth Lead, explained that the company developed a highly sophisticated, platform-agnostic lending algorithm. This advanced algorithm efficiently assesses risk without requiring access to users' sensitive on-device data, building upon four years of accumulated learning.

This innovative algorithm is also slated to power Carbon's services for feature phone users via USSD, with a rollout anticipated in the near future. For the present, the new iOS application is exclusively available for download from the Apple App Store in Nigeria. This phased launch strategy allows Carbon to gather crucial user feedback, enabling further improvements before the app is introduced to its other markets in the coming months.