EDITOR’S QUESTION
BABAFEMI OGUNGBAMILA, CIO at Interswitch
JONAH ADAMS, Chief Strategy, Insights and Growth
Officer, Interswitch
As we see it at Interswitch, the
dynamic nature of Africa’s emerging
markets opens opportunities for
innovation and growth that are quite
unique compared to other regions.
Payments is an area where the
potential for catalysing tremendous
economic impact is largest. Digital
technology is already reshaping the
next-generation of payment systems
across Africa, with both fintech and
established financial sector players
such as retail banks driving innovation.
We also see the payments ecosystem
in Africa being redefined progressively
by regulatory interventions.
In Nigeria, our home market, payment
platforms are starting to evolve from
being commoditised propositions to
strategic solutions that complement
and add value to people’s lifestyles.
A critically defining imperative for
banks and fintechs in many African
markets will therefore be to rapidly
and aggressively develop a much more
comprehensive understanding of their
customers whilst radically simplifying
their product ranges. Some of the
notable factors we see shaping this
digital transformation in payments will
be the impact of technology, shifting
customer expectations, changing
global demographics, the rise of
e-commerce and the growing impact
of regulation.
The shift has already begun and
is being accelerated by the entry
of non-traditional players, the
emergence of new solutions premised
on technology and essentially, the
development of strategic partnerships
that cross traditional industry
boundaries (creating new platform
based ecosystems in such industry
verticals as transportation, healthcare
etc). The transformation will also be
characterised by convergence across
markets, around products and solutions
linked to payments, around technology
platforms and even regulations, that
will be global in nature and reach.
We have identified 4 major
imperatives, which are critical to
‘breaking the ICE(S)’ militating against
the adoption of digital payments in
sub-Saharan Africa:
•
•
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Payment should be inclusive
(referring to financial inclusion)
Payment should be convenient
(referring to omni-channel
possibilities)
Payment should be express
(referring to transaction speed)
Payment should be secure
(referring to security of financial
transactions and fraud mitigation)
These four are critical considerations
we are working around to entrench a
cashless economy in the markets in
which we operate.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
opportunities for our business in the
medium to long term as our strategy
and capabilities evolve:
•
•
•
Jonah Adams, Chief Strategy,
Insights and Growth Officer
at Interswitch
Babafemi Ogungbamila, CIO
at Interswitch
Specifically, from where we sit
as Interswitch, we foresee six
transformational changes in the
industry and they all present significant
•
•
•
•
Integration of African markets into
one-billion market opportunities
for retail financial services
Growth of the digital commerce
and pan-African cross-border
trade solutions
Financial inclusion of the large
underbanked and unbanked
markets with special focus on
delivering low-cost, competitive,
world-class financial services and
tools into the BoP market segment
Adoption of payment solutions
and services by corporates and
governments; to facilitate their
economic activities, service delivery
and operations
Single-minded focus of regulators
to make the payment industry
work for the consumers and
potential customers through their
regulatory actions and inactions
Consolidation of services on
mobile devices.
o c . i t n e g i l e t n i .