GoFree, the ambitious neobank poised to become Africa’s WeChat

Today’s world is rife with tons of fintechs offering virtually the same services but with unique twists. While some may argue that there are enough players in the fintech space, there is still a gap wide gap between Africans and basic financial services. 

Aside from money transfers, remittances, and bill payments, today’s crop of fintech platforms offer tons of new and exciting features. From providing virtual USD/GBP accounts/cards to allowing users to seamlessly pay school fees, the fintech space keeps expanding with possibilities. 

Consider GoFree, a neobank that launched in April 2023. Although packaged as a fresh player in the heavily saturated financial services field, GoFree comes with a handful of features that it hopes will separate it from the competition. The app primarily targets the following categories of people: Gen Z, Millennials, B2C players, SMEs, and startups like itself. 

Aside from the usual payment capabilities, users of the app will find that it allows them to collaborate and send messages too. It is a super app designed for those keen on managing their professional and personal lives together, much like the famous WeChat that has dominated China.

For context, a GoFree user can chat with colleagues or family members, share documents as part of collaborations, send/receive money, and pay bills within one ecosystem. As this review’s title suggests, it is an ambitious project that, at first glance, should be number one. 

Read also: How to use the latest version of the GT World app

GoFree; A user-friendly app with a couple of kinks 

GoFree’s app is available for download on Gppfle PlayStore and the iOS store depending on the user’s device. The app opens almost instantly and displays a white background containing the product’s logo. Interestingly, new users can opt for an instructional video that explains how to properly sign up. 

The registration process is quite enjoyable until the One Time Password (OTP) stage. To authenticate the account creation process, the user must request an OTP from GoFree. 

Upon requesting an OTP, it took more than ten minutes to arrive. It is worth mentioning that many factors like bad network connection or server issues can negatively impact the early arrival of OTPs. However, ten minutes is a long time to wait for an OTP. After inputting the long-awaited OTP, the next step is customizing the user profile. 

Here, the user can upload an existing photo or take a fresh one. They also have to type in a display name and a unique cash tag. GoFree advertises security as one of its app’s strong points. When the security page opens, the user must register a new password. This can be a 4-digit code, fingerprint, or facial recognition. 

At this stage, the app’s dashboard reveals itself. Here, you can either opt to access more features by verifying the account or use the available features. Upon submitting the image of a National Identity Number (NIN) slip, the app stops and the process has to be restarted. Interestingly, this is not an isolated incident as some users have complained about this problem through reviews on Google Play Store. 

Notably, the user can still access some important features without account verification. For instance, the chat section where users can chat with their contacts (and send or receive money in the process) can be used. As advertised, GoFree is built with some vital social media features. Users can post images with captions and also share lists with a limited lifespan commonly known as stories. 

Users can create virtual and physical USD cards for $2 (+$1 authorization fee) and $3 (+$1 authorization fee) respectively. The virtual card has a monthly spending limit of $10,000 while physical cardholders can max out at $50,000. For clarity, the physical care feature is forthcoming. Meanwhile, some drawbacks exist. Users can not link their external accounts or debit/credit to GoFree for now. 

GoFree’s AI Companion 

GoFree experiments with AI, a trend that the likes of Google, Open AI, Slack, Snapchat, and more companies have recently jumped on. It feels weird on a fintech app, but then again, the GoFree app claims to be more than just a platform for money transfers and remittances.  In the Companion section, users can ask GoFree’s AI assistant questions. They can also ask it to write essays and reports for them.

It can also help with research. Unfortunately, attempts to see the extent of the companion’s capabilities were abortive. When given prompts, the AI simply responded with a box with the word “Companion” inscribed.  If this is a beta feature or one that is “coming soon” it should help to put an indicator.  

Read also: On Cenoa, users can begin their investment journey with 1 kobo for a 5% annual yield

Final thoughts 

Following initial testing, GoFree’s app has shown lots of potential. How it chooses to build on the product’s initial offerings will affect it in the long run whether good or bad. Issues noted in the review like prolonged OTP arrival times and a problematic account verification process should be rectified. 

If GoFree is keen on becoming a top choice for its target audience, then it must present a near-perfect app for usage.