- Paystack’s Zap is faced with a legal threat from crypto firm, Zap Africa, over brand name
- Zap Africa said the name is trademarked and expressed its intent to pursue legal action against Paystack
- Nigerians reacted to the brand name saga on social media
Paystack’s consumer payment app, Zap, has been issued with a legal threat from Zap Africa, a cryptocurrency exchange that facilitates the conversion of crypto to naira, over the use of the brand name “Zap.”
The legal threat comes just days after Paystack launched the mobile app designed to endure fast and secure bank transfers.
During the launch of the app, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paystack, Shola Akinlade, clarified that it is neither a banking service nor a remittance service, though users can also link debit or credit cards from any country to Zap.
The app, which has already garnered over 1,000 downloads on the Google Play Store, faces legal threat from Zap Africa over the name ‘Zap,’ claiming that its brand name is trademarked.
Zap Africa intends to pursue legal action against Paystack
In a tweet on X on Tuesday, March 25, the CEO of Zap Africa, Tobi Asu-Johnson, announced that the company intends to pursue legal action against Paystack over the name.
“Our name is trademarked, and we’re on it. Zap’s legal team will be reaching out to Paystack shortly.
“Huge shout out to everyone who brought this to our attention. Your support is invaluable!” Asu-Johnson wrote.
On the official X handle of the cryptocurrency firm, it stated, “There is only one ZAP in Nigeria and Africa.”
The Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Zap Africa, Moore Dagogo-Hart, stated that the crypto firm’s name is trademarked.
“We’ve been building Zap for 3 years now, intentionally and with full ownership. The name is trademarked. The product is live. The community is real ⚡#OnlyOneZap,” he wrote.
Zap Africa is a non-custodial wallet enabling users to seamlessly swap and send cryptocurrency for naira at competitive rates, supporting transactions globally.
Meanwhile, Paystack has yet to release a public statement addressing the allegations or the potential lawsuit.
Brand name saga sparks reaction from Nigerians
Following the launch of Zap, Nigerians have taken to social media, particularly X, to share their opinions on the brand name saga.
Many questioned why proper research was not carried out by Paystack before coming up with the app name.
Others expressed support for Zap Africa to sue Paystack if the name is trademarked.
@MuyoSan queried, “My own is, during the supposed 23 months of the product research and dev, did they come across these guys and decide to go ahead with the name? Or did someone drop the ball?”
@YusufOGaniyu wrote, “Boyyyyy… you’ll just wonder what the product guys were doing all these while mehn. I taya.”
@thepremiumguy_ said, “Probably just means *we no dey fear these guys. Dem no dey relevant. They aren't a threat* Plus if they haven’t trademarked. Lol otilo.”
@Stanleyndu_ _ tweeted, “They still have the chance to switch to ZapZap.”
@i_am_dexterous said, As they didn’t Trademark it. There should be some database? Either way, shouldn’t they check? Just Google “zap Nigeria” or “zap Africa”. Or Check with CAC.
@Arizona_PC wrote, “They saw it. They just didn’t take them serious 😂.”
@DavidEzennia tweeted, “Wow, problem dey oo. Paystack will have to redo the whole product branding process again.”
@bin_gbada wrote, “I think they saw it but didn’t care. I don’t want to believe they missed such oversight.”
@DrIkejioforP stated, “lol. The usual Nigerian anyhowness. I can’t even believe they were not able to do a proper research before product launch. Disappointing!”
7 African AI startups founded by Nigerians
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution brought about innovations and startups leveraging technology to address pressing human needs.
The African continent is not left behind in this wave of revolution. The continent boasts a handful of startups changing the world, most of which are founded by Nigerians or located in Nigeria, including these seven.
