What Is Raven Bank || 6 Things to Know About the People’s Bank of Africa
Bank profile
Raven Bank, in plain words
Raven calls itself “the People’s Bank of Africa.” Behind the slogan is a Nigerian digital bank that began as a tool for seeing all your accounts in one place and grew into a bank with cards, overdrafts and business accounts.
Launched: April 2021
Type: Digital bank, app first
Company behind the app: RavenPay Limited
Licensed partner: Beststar MFB, a CBN-licensed microfinance bank (per the app listing)
Deposit cover: NDIC insured, according to the listing
CEO: Uchenna Nnodim
Where did Raven come from?
Raven began in April 2021 as a “one-stop shop” that connected customers’ accounts from different banks on a single dashboard. People liked seeing everything in one app, so the company added money movement, then cards, then credit. By its second anniversary in 2023, management said the bank had grown from about 150,000 customers at the start of 2022 to roughly 470,000 by the end of that year.
What can you do with Raven?
Send money. Transfers to other banks and free username-based transfers between Raven users. The app listing reported a flat N10 transfer fee and bulk transfers.
Pay bills. Electricity, data, cable TV and airtime, plus funding betting wallets.
Spend online. Raven Virtual Card for online shopping and bill payments, with physical cards described as planned.
Borrow. Raven Overdraft, a paperless overdraft product named in 2023 coverage.
Save. Savings plans, with interest advertised at up to 14% a year at the time of the listing.
Run a business. Raven Business Banking with multiple accounts, invoicing, cash-flow tracking and payroll tools, and Raven Atlas for payments.
Rates, fees and product names change often. Read the current terms in the app before you decide.
How big is it?
Reports from 2023 put Raven between half a million and nearly a million users, with about 5,000 businesses using its products. The bank said it had processed close to $1 billion across more than 20 million transactions. The two figures for users come from different outlets and dates, so read them as a range, not one exact number.
How does Raven protect accounts?
The bank has said it uses facial recognition to verify customers and cut fraud. Add your own habits: a strong PIN, no sharing of OTPs, and updating the app from the official store only.
Is it the right bank for you?
Common questions
Is Raven the same as Beststar MFB? No. Raven is the app and brand; the app listing names Beststar MFB as the licensed bank behind it.
Does Raven have a USSD code? A USSD service was announced as planned in 2023, but no confirmed code was found. Confirm in the app before dialing anything.
Who do I contact for help? Use the in-app live chat, which the app listing says is open all day.
Raven is a good example of a bank that started with a feature, not a branch. Open the app, read the fee page, then decide.