Since the introduction of digital savings and investment platforms in Nigeria, two apps have risen to become the most prominent: Piggyvest and Cowrywise. Although both of these platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, there is always constant comparison as to which app is better. This unending debate came as a result of the similar So Cowrywise vs Piggyvest, which platform is better? Let’s compare some of their unique features below so that you can select the most suitable one for you.
An Overview of Cowrywise
Cowrywise is a prominent savings and investment platform built to furnish individuals with the necessary tools to encourage easier personal financial management. The Cowrwise platform was established by Razaq Ahmed and Edward Popoola in July 2017.
Essentially, the app is developed not just to make occasional savings and investments easy and automated, but to also facilitate monitoring of savings, investments and even personal net worth.
Currently, Cowrywise mobile app has more than 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. Also, has an acceptance rating of 4.5 stars from thousands of users. Many reviewers of the app say they have had an incredible experience on the app, portraying it as ‘efficient’, ‘reliable’, ‘amazing’, etc. The app is also available on the App Store with thousands of downloads.
An Overview of PiggyVest
PiggyVest is West Africa’s first online “Savings & Investment” app. Basically, it is a secure online savings app that makes saving feasible by incorporating discipline and flexibility to enable users to grow their savings.
The platform was first established as “Piggybank.ng” on the 7th of January 2016 and was a savings-only platform. However, in 2019, this platform rebranded and became a savings, investment, and financial management platform. So for 3 years, PiggyVest offered just savings to their users.
PiggyVest currently has more than 100,000 app downloads on the Google Play Store and App Store with hundreds of good reviews.
Cowrywise vs Piggyvest – Which Platform is Better?
We’ll be comparing these two apps based on certain parameters. Check out what you need to know below:
1. Savings
Both platforms present you with a range of unique savings options. We will be listing and explaining some of these options below:
A. PiggyVest
PiggyVest primarily has four major savings options. They include:
i. PiggyBank
The PiggyBank Wallet is a simple but unique savings plan that permits you to stockpile away money at regular intervals directly from your bank account. With this savings plan, you can just withdraw your money once every 3 months. Also, you can automate your regular deposits so you won’t have to manually transfer the cash when the time comes. The PiggyBank plan is suitable for individuals who just want somewhere to put away money just for saving’s sake.
ii. Target Savings
Target Savings is for people who are saving for a specific purpose or target. You can use this plan to save for your rent, purchase a car, pay for tuition, buy a laptop, or do any other major project. With this plan, you can even decide to do a go-find-me style by inviting your family and friends to join in and help you meet your target. As the name indicates, the Target savings is just for targeted projects so the money will be released for your use only at the appointed time.
iii. SafeLock Plan
The SafeLock plan by PiggyVest is more long-term than the first two plans. Basically, this plan is for users aiming to lock away money for an extremely long time. However, this plan comes with more interest rates than the previous two. This means that the longer your money stays in the safe, the more interest it yields.
iv. Flex Dollar plan
The Flex Dollar plan is a relatively new saving plan on PiggyVest that was specially designed for people who are hoping to save and invest their money in dollars. It comes with a fixed interest rate of 7% per annum. Also, this plan allows for the instant acquisition of Dollars with Naira.
Depositing cash into your PiggyVest virtual account is entirely free. If you forget a scheduled deposit, you can still use the “QuickSave” feature which permits you to deposit cash of up to N500,000 at a goal. Daily deposit of cash in PiggyVest ranges between N50 and N25,000. Weekly deposit ranges between N1,000 to N100,000 while monthly deposits range between N3,000 to N500,000.
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B. Cowrywise
Cowrywise has a wider array of unique savings plans. Here is a list of their saving plans:
i. Periodic Saving Plan
The Periodic Saving Plan allows you to automatically save cash on a regular basis. It can be daily, weekly or even monthly, depending on your needs. This plan is primarily targeted at regular fixed-income earners, university students who get a monthly allowance, and NYSC members.
ii. The Life Goals
The Life Goals saving plan by Cowrywise is almost like PiggyVest’s Target Savings. Essentially, this plan permits you to plan and commit to specific long-term goals. This plan is also suitable for regular fixed-salary earners.
iii. Save as you Earn
Save as You Earn is a plan that was specially designed for people who don’t make a regular income. With this plan, you can choose to make deposits whenever you want without any extra charges. The Save as you earn option is suitable for artisans, traders, contractors, freelancers and generally people with irregular streams of income.
iv. Fixed Savings
Fixed Savings is specially designed for people who have cash they won’t need for a while. It could be just for only 3 months, 6 months, one year or more. Essentially, the lump sum would be locked off into a fixed savings plan that has a set maturity date. This plan is suitable for individuals with seasonal businesses that fetch them money at specific intervals.
v. Halal Savings
Halal Savings is a plan that was specifically designed in accordance with the Islamic banking system. With this unique plan, there is zero interest in line with the fundamental doctrines of Islam. Halal savings is designed for Muslims and individuals of other faiths or beliefs who subscribe to the prevalent belief of zero-interest banking.
vi. Saving Circles
Saving Circles is specially designed for those who would like to save as a group. Essentially, it is for a group of people who have shared goals and would like to save towards them. For instance, if you and your group of friends would like to save for a mutual friend’s wedding, then the Saving Circles plan is for you.
2. Investment
Another main feature of both platforms is their mutual investment plan. Basically the investment feature pools money from different small investors to make up one great investment. Subsequently, the money is used to do business and profits are shared. However, you’ll be mandated to take a short risk appraisal test to be qualified for this. Here’s how investments work on Cowrywise vs Piggyvest:
A. Mutual Funds Investment on Cowrywise
On the Cowrywise platform, you can simply invest in mutual funds via a Systematic Investment Programme (SIP). Basically, this system lets you invest in bits at regular intervals.
i. Conservative (Low Risk)
Funds classified as low risk by the platform are mainly money market funds. With these kinds of funds, a single unit’s price will not change, which means that your capital will remain intact and preserved. However, the returns rate is liable to change on a day-to-day basis.
ii. Moderate (Medium Risk)
Usually, these types of funds are a combination of both low-risk and high-risk instruments. The method of earning is via capital appreciation because the price of a unit is very likely to change every day. Due to the price shift, your capital is very prone to increase or decrease.
iii. Aggressive (High Risk)
These funds are generally equities (i.e. stocks). Essentially, it involves investing your money in shares of different well-performing companies. Similar to medium-risk funds, the method of earning here is typically via capital appreciation as the price of one unit is very likely to change.
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B. PiggyVest
Investify is the official PiggyVest investment feature that permits users to gain more on the capital they saved by investing in quality pre-vetted, low-medium risk investment opportunities. These opportunities can include both primary and secondary options.
They have been carefully vetted and certified to be made of low and medium risk. Generally, all investments under PiggyVest come with insurance.
3. Interest Rates
Both the Cowrywise and PiggyVest platforms offer their users great interest rates. While the least interest rate for users on both platforms is 10% per annum, PiggyVest offers 13% interest to users who lock their capital into its SafeLock plan. However, users of the Piggybank and Target Savings plans receive 10% interest.
As for Cowrywise users, they receive 10% interest for starters across all offers. However, the platform claims the interest rate could increase to as high as 15%, depending on how long you leave your money in their system. Nonetheless, there is no plainly defined length or duration, as it could range between 10 and 15%.
All interests on both platforms are broken down and paid every day. For all PiggyVest users, a 13% interest rate for the SafeLock plan will be paid upfront and is available to them at any time. Also, PiggyVest gives its users a Flex sub-account that safely stores the interest rate on their behalf. Users can easily withdraw from this reserve whenever they want.
4. Charges and fees
PiggyVest’s savings and investing options are all tailored to a distinct need. Interest rates on your savings can range from about 10% to over 13% per year, depending on the kind of savings plan you select.
As for a Cowrywise account, you earn a yearly interest rate of just 2.5 per cent. This means that the majority of what goes on in your virtual bank savings account attracts costs.
5. Withdrawals
Withdrawal is absolutely free on both platforms as long as you are making your withdrawals on the specific withdrawal dates you set. PiggyVest provides you with the option of making use of its own standard withdrawal dates (March 31st, June 30th, September 30th and lastly, December 31st). Withdrawal outside these specific dates will attract a penalty of 5% of whatever amount is withdrawn.
Cowrywise has entirely no alternative for emergency withdrawal for their users outside of the set date. You may need to consider this before choosing to save with them. The platform is far stricter than PiggyVest when it comes to its withdrawal policy. Cowrywise claims to make sure that users stay 100% committed to their savings and meet up with their targets.
PiggyVest vs. Cowrywise: Which Platform is Better?
Both PiggyVest and Cowrywise offer similar features and are the most prominent savings and investment apps in Nigeria. Although both of these platforms offer you savings and investment features, we’ve concluded that one is more suitable for savings, while the other is more suitable for investment.
The PiggyVest platform is more suitable for saving because it is mainly seen as a savings mobile app. Moreover, its very flexible withdrawal plan makes it quite easy for you to access your savings in case there is an emergency.
On the other hand, the Cowrywise platform is more suitable for investments because of its wide array of different investment opportunities and the mutual funds option available for users on the app.