Zeeh Africa, a Tekedia portfolio company that unlocks value in financial data for people and businesses in Africa, has relaunched its Direct Debit feature.
The update aims to tackle one of Nigeria’s digital lending sector’s biggest challenges, ensuring timely loan repayments from borrowers.
The revamped Direct Debit solution enables users to access secure, automated direct debit payments for seamless collections, helping lenders easily manage recurring payments and minimize collection risks.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
Highlighting the urgency of the solution, Zeeh Africa CEO David Adeleke said,
“The irony of Nigeria’s fintech boom is that while we’ve made it incredibly easy to disburse loans, we’ve remained inefficient at collecting repayments. Manual follow-ups, failed bank transfers, and unreliable payment promises create a cycle where good borrowers get lumped with bad ones.”
Key Features of the Direct Debit Solution Include;
Automated Payment Collections
Businesses can automate recurring payments and gain access to detailed transaction records, offering insights into user spending and payment patterns.
Reduced Payment Defaults
The system helps minimize missed payments through secure, reliable direct debit processes that support consistent loan repayment.
Secure and Efficient Transactions
Direct debit enhances transaction security, reduces fraud exposure, and ensures smoother payment flows for businesses.
Fixed Recurring Payments
Enables the collection of consistent payment amounts spread across predetermined intervals.
Enhanced Security
Mandate setup requires customer authorization and consent, ensuring secure and compliant transactions.
Swift Mandate Setup and Authorization
Mandates can be created in under five minutes, enabling faster onboarding and payment processing.
Multi-Institutional Support
The platform supports mandate setup across more than 30 Nigerian commercial banks, broadening payment collection options.
The launch of this feature comes at a strategic time, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Q3 2025 Credit Conditions Survey, which revealed an interesting shift in the country’s lending landscape. According to the report, lenders recorded a decrease in default rates for unsecured lending, while default rates for secured lending increased during the review quarter.
The rise in default rates highlights growing pressure on asset-backed borrowers. Secured loans, such as mortgages, auto loans, and business loans backed by collateral, are usually seen as safer for lenders. However, the Q3 data indicates that borrowers are struggling to meet repayment obligations.
Zeeh Africa, founded in 2022 by Adeleke and Frank Uwajeh, has positioned itself as a leading AI-powered cross-border financial identity and credit data infrastructure provider, trusted by financial institutions, digital banks, and fintechs to verify users, assess risk, and power inclusive credit decisions.
The company’s infrastructure grants access to real-time insights and financial data drawn from over 85 million financial records. Through secure APIs and no-code tools, Zeeh aggregates financial data, behavioral analytics, and verified identity records including NIN, BVN, and facial match into actionable intelligence.
These capabilities help partners onboard customers faster, reduce fraud, and extend credit confidently, even to thin-file or previously unbanked users.
In just a few years, the fintech company has become a key player in Africa’s open finance evolution, serving more than 65 financial institutions across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, and influencing over $15.5 million in credit decisions.
As the company expands into new regions including Canada and diaspora corridors, it remains committed to unlocking financial identity for everyone, everywhere.