PalmPay has a bit of an infamous reputation among Nigerians, but with over 40 million customers in Nigeria, there’s no doubt that it’s one of Nigeria’s most popular digital banks. Like its competitor, OPay, PalmPay is primarily a mobile bank, so you can access it using its eponymous app on your Android or iOS smartphone.
Most users don’t know, however, that there’s a PalmPay transfer code you can use to complete transactions without ever having to open the app. It works on any phone, even those without an internet connection, as long as you have access to the SIM linked to your PalmPay account in the first place.
In this post, you’ll learn about the PalmPay transfer code, what it can do, and how to use it for transactions without opening your PalmPay app.
Does PalmPay have a USSD code?
Yes, PalmPay does seem to have a USSD code, but the bank doesn’t seem to be very proud of it. You won’t see a lot of official PalmPay channels talking about the USSD code, and the code itself doesn’t appear to be working properly, at least from our internal test.
The transfer code for PalmPay is *652#, and it supposedly works on all mobile networks in Nigeria, except we couldn’t get it to work while researching this article. It kept throwing a “service is temporarily unavailable” error each time we tried, confirming that PalmPay indeed has a USSD code.
In the following section, you’ll learn how to use the PalmPay transfer code, going by PalmPay’s marketing material, and how we’d have expected it to work if it worked.
How to use the PalmPay transfer code
PalmPay itself has no clear-cut guides on how to use its transfer code, maybe because the code doesn’t even work well to begin with. However, we know the code exists because PalmPay referenced it once in an ad for its QR card.
If we can somehow get it to work, here’s how we’d imagine using the PalmPay transfer code would feel like:
Dial *652# to initiate a USSD transaction
Accept any relevant terms and conditions
Select the service you intend to use, for instance Transfer or Airtime Purchase
Follow the prompts and provide all necessary details
Authenticate the transaction with your payment PIN
According to PalmPay’s only mention of its USSD code we could find, the PalmPay transfer code can supposedly be used to check balance or complete transactions. At the very least, we’d expect it to support airtime purchases, money transfers, and emergency card blocking if it somehow eventually works.
How to add money to PalmPay account via USSD
While PalmPay’s own USSD code is mostly dysfunctional, the bank allows you to add money to your account using other banks’ USSD codes. This is a trend we’ve noticed with digital banks without transfer codes; Kuda Bank also works this way.
The main downside to this feature is that it only works for inward transfers; you still can’t send money to other people via USSD. Besides, you’ll need an internet connection and access to the PalmPay app to use the service, which defeats the purpose of using a USSD in the first place.
However, there’s still utility for the feature. If you’re receiving money from someone without a smartphone, for instance, having them dial a simple USSD and complete a one-click payment comes in very handy.
With that said, here’s how to add money to your PalmPay account via USSD:
Log into the PalmPay app on your smartphone and tap the “Add Money” button beside your account balance.
On the resulting page, select “USSD.” This option allows you to fund your account using other banks’ USSD codes.
Select the applicable bank and enter how much you’d like to add to your PalmPay balance. Tap on “Fund” after confirming the details are all correct.
PalmPay will instantly generate a USSD code that you can dial from the phone number connected to the funding bank account to effect the payment.
Note that the generated USSD code expires in five minutes. You’ll also have to authenticate the payment from the funding bank, usually by entering a four or six-digit PIN.
This funding method works for almost all Nigerian banks, including many of the newer-generation digital banks.
Why is PalmPay transfer code not working?
Considering that we couldn’t even get PalmPay’s transfer code to work ourselves, this section is possibly the most crucial in this article. Of course, you can’t always fix it when something goes wrong, but you always want to be on top of the situation whenever you can.
With that said, here are common reasons why your PalmPay transfer code may not be working and what you can do about it:
- Network error
In our case, the system kept throwing a ‘temporary’ network error each time we attempted to log in, so that’s something you’ll likely be seeing very often. If this is the problem you’re facing, you can’t fix it; you simply have to wait it out, if that’s even an option in the first place.
Network errors don’t always occur at the beginning of the transaction. Sometimes, you’ll be able to indicate who you want to send money to and how much you want to send, only to have the system throw random errors. Again, the only solution to these network failures is waiting it out.
- Failed payments
If you somehow make it past the opening page without a sort of ‘temporary’ network error getting in your way, you also want to look out for failed payments. When a transaction or payment fails, it’s usually your fault, maybe because you entered a wrong PIN or made a mistake with the account number.
Ensure you’re double-checking the details you’re providing when using the PalmPay transfer code to avoid stories that touch.
Stanbic IBTC Bank Transfer Code
Conclusion
The PalmPay transfer code is one of the shoddiest implementations of the feature we’ve seen so far. It apparently exists, but with it rarely working at any time, I’m not sure whether to rank it better or worse than Kuda Bank’s USSD code, which actually doesn’t exist.
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