A Nigerian man has taken to social media to accuse Paystack of intellectual property theft, claiming the company launched a new payment product using a name that was already legally owned by another brand.
The controversy erupted after Paystack announced the launch of “Zap”, a product that many believe bears the exact name of a pre-existing fintech company, Zap Africa.
The man, who appears to be familiar with the fintech space, shared online evidence suggesting that Zap Africa has been operating under this name for years and even holds the trademark rights for “Zap” in the software and technology sector.
“A whole Paystack, with all their resources, couldn’t come up with an original name? They had to take one that already belongs to another company? This is corporate plagiarism!” he wrote.
Following the revelation, many Nigerians on social media have criticized Paystack, calling it a blatant case of intellectual property theft.
“This is how big corporations take from smaller businesses and act like nothing happened,” one user commented.
Another tweeted, “Zap Africa has existed for YEARS. Paystack, do the right thing and change the name. You can’t just take what isn’t yours.”
