Back in April, Opera participated in the Celo Kuneco call where we shared some updates on the first quarter of 2024. MiniPay recorded some remarkable milestones as a part of the Celo ecosystem, underscoring our growth and the success of the entire community.
Key Achievements:
- 2.5 Million Wallets: Since the launch of MiniPay we have crossed 2.5 million wallets with DAUs on an upward trend emphasizing our expanding user base and contribution to Celo’s growth.
- Live in 4 markets: MiniPay is live in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa while we are actively testing in others such as Uganda.
- 10 Cash In Cash Out Partners: Partnerships with local providers enhance the accessibility of MiniPay, allowing users to easily add and withdraw funds. These partnerships are crucial in ensuring local relevance and superior experience.
- 7 live dApps: Since September 2023 to date, MiniPay has added on 7 ecosystem dapps to the Discover page—Blockscratch, Impact Market, HaloFi, GoodDollar, BitGifty, Play to Earn and Daily Claims
Driving Adoption for Celo Ecosystem dApps
MiniPay users have generated over 6 million visits to the ecosystem apps integrated in the Discover page. Some of these apps are:
- Blockscratch: Engages users with on-chain missions, rewarding them for tasks like holding, sending, and buying cUSD.
- Impact Market: Users learn about blockchain and Web3 technologies and earn rewards, promoting financial literacy.
- HaloFi: Encourages users to save with challenges while earning interest in cUSD.
- BitGifty: Enables users to pay local bills with cUSD, enhancing utility and convenience.
- GoodDollar: Provides Universal Basic Income (UBI) to millions of users, promoting financial inclusion.
- Daily Claim: Built by Opera, this app allows users to claim cUSD daily, offering a form of UBI and fostering regular engagement within the platform.
- Daily Game: Also built by Opera, this app offers users a chance to earn cUSD by playing games, making financial engagement fun and interactive and providing another form of UBI.
Some co-marketing campaigns we ran with integrated apps in Q1
Blockscratch Case Study: With over 2 million visits and 600,000 monthly interactions, Blockscratch app exemplifies a successful "X to earn ‘’ use case within the Celo ecosystem.
MiniPay as a Payout Method
Shake & Win: Starting with Shake & Win, a Native gamification campaign in the Opera Mini browser, we have introduced MiniPay as the main payout method and the campaign has so far onboarded over 80,000 new MiniPay users winning prizes in cUSD.
Microworker Payments: Opera News hub, a content aggregation platform that employs local writers and editors has transitioned to paying contributors in cUSD via MiniPay, with 1,500 writers paid monthly. Additionally, Opera made its first salary payments via MiniPay in March.
Our Community-First Approach
The MiniPay Student Ambassador Program which has engaged a network of 100 student ambassadors across 80+ higher institutions in Nigeria and Kenya who have so far driven over 130,000 new users. These ambassadors play a crucial role in spreading awareness, driving user stories, and educating their peers about the benefits of MiniPay, creating a grassroots movement that fuels growth. The program has recently been extended to 200 ambassadors.
Supporting Builders on Celo
Opera has been active in monitoring and actively supporting teams building for relevant use cases on Celo. This includes providing guidance on product development, design, and marketing strategies to ensure these projects can effectively serve their target markets and ultimately integrate smoothly into the MiniPay ecosystem.
As a part of Celo Camp Batch 8, Opera mentored BitGifty, a dApp enabling users to pay local bills with cUSD. BitGifty is now live and has processed over ₦5,000,000 in local bill payments for MiniPay users in Nigeria and Ghana.
“Working with the Opera team has been a consistent ‘happy moment’ for us. We had the team’s full support, enabling us to go live on MiniPay very quickly, unlocking a new level for us at BitGifty.” - BitGifty Team
Some Product Updates from Q1
- Cash Links: A new feature simplifying transactions with just a link click or scan of a barcode. Links containing Celo Dollar that can be shared anywhere including Whatsapp, X, or Messenger apps. Users only need to click the link to claim the cash in 5 seconds.
In a test campaign, 120 cashlinks shared on X generated over 30,000 link clicks and over 400,000 impressions showing just how impactful the feature is at making payments a social experience.
- Improved Cash-in Cash-Out experience: Following some initial user feedback, we rolled out some improvements to the Add cash and withdraw experience in MiniPay. This new update provides users with live tracking, allowing them to follow their funds every step of the funding and withdrawal process and alleviating anxieties around the whereabouts of their funds.
- P2P Payments without Data: MiniPay now supports P2P payments even when you data runs out! This uses the Opera Mini Free Data allowance available on many operator networks on the continent.
- Web3 for Humans: MiniPay simplifies Web3 access by abstracting the wallet connection process for integrated dApps. Instead of the typical “connect wallet” button, users can seamlessly perform actions like “Approve,” “Deposit,” “Withdraw,” and “Claim” without extra steps. This user-friendly design makes engaging with decentralized applications as easy as using familiar online services, promoting broader adoption and ensuring Web 3 is truly accessible to everyone.
MiniPay Standalone App Coming Soon
Last week, Opera participated in the CeloGather event in Berlin on May 24th, 2024, where we announced that MiniPay will be expanding beyond its current integration in Opera Mini to become a standalone app available on Android and iOS.
This global transition is being made possible with the support of partners including Ramp, Transak, TransFi, and Unlimit, enabling low-cost, instant payments for everyone, everywhere.
We also took the opportunity to share with the community insights on our journey so far, what we’re currently working on, and what’s next for MiniPay as part of the Celo ecosystem.
What’s Next?
- We are continuously searching for new apps with relevant use cases to integrate into the MiniPay discover page.
- We are excited to bring USDC and USDT to MiniPay very soon, expanding options for users.
- We are now supporting and mentoring some new projects as a part of Celo Camp Batch 9
We’d love to hear your feedback from the community so feel free to leave your comments below!
very useful for countries like those ones you are already working on but also for almost 80% 
minipay update