Zap battles Paystack over trademark

Zap Africa, Nigeria’s first non-custodial exchange, is formally challenging Paystack, a payment solutions provider, for allegedlyA using the trademarked name, “Zap.” The dispute follows Paystack’s recent launch of a payment feature called “Zap by Paystack.” However, Zap says Paystack’s launch is “potentially causing brand confusion among users.”

According to the CEO, “In Nigeria, Zap Africa holds exclusive rights to the ‘Zap’ trademark, and the company has taken legal steps to protect its intellectual property.

“We have worked tirelessly to build Zap Africa into a trusted name in the crypto and fintech space. Seeing just another company adopt our name without authorization threatens our brand identity and confuses customers,” said Tobiloba Asu-Johnson, CEO at Zap Africa. “We strove to resolve this amicably, but we are prepared to take legal action to defend our trademark.”

Moore Dagogo-Hart, CTO of Zap Africa, further emphasized the importance of this: “This is bigger than a name, it’s about protecting African innovation from being erased. Zap was built for the people, and we’ll defend it with everything we’ve got.”

He noted that “Zap remains committed to innovation and leadership in the digital asset ecosystem.”

The company has recently announced “the upcoming launch of Africa’s very first non-custodial wallet, further cementing its role as a trailblazer in financial technology.”

As the situation develops, Zap Africa said it “urges Paystack to respect existing intellectual property laws and discontinue using the ‘Zap’ name to avoid further legal consequences,” the statement concludes.

Vanguard’s efforts to reach Paystack proved abortive as calls made to the available phone lines were not answered of the time of filing this report.