Nigeria’s payment system among the best globally – Expert

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

Mr. Niyi Toluwalope, CEO of eTranzact, an electronic and mobile payment solution company, believes Nigeria’s payment system is among the best in the world.

Toluwalope spoke at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Editors in Calabar. He presented a paper about “Designing and Implementing a Robust Payment Architecture.”

Nigeria’s payment system, he claims, has evolved into one of the most advanced payment ecosystems in the world.

“In terms of the development and adoption of modern payment systems today, our payment architecture is characterised by growing fintech startups and active regulator involvement.

However, he stated that there was still work to be done.

According to him, every payment system has attributes that are formed by the quality and standards of the stakeholders. He cited infrastructure, regulation, talent, and capital as necessary components for developing an ideal payment system.

“No payment architecture exists without the physical infrastructure like servers, network connectivity and software tools supporting the proper collection, storage and transfer of data to facilitate payment transaction processing.

“Payment networks have to be governed by regulatory guidelines to enable the responsible deployment of payment solutions to prevent harm to the ecosystem.

“However, regulations have to evolve to enable the payment architecture of the future through the adoption of “regtech” to design and enforce guidelines, ” he said.

Meanwhile, he noted that talent was critical in developing the payment architecture of the future and that the ideal payment architecture could only be delivered with a consistent infusion of capital.

“Payments in Nigeria have entered a new era of growth and require that stakeholders view payment infrastructure through new lenses. Efficiency can be achieved by reducing repetitive investment in payment infrastructure while ensuring competitiveness.

“This is by empowering a qualified set of fintechs with demonstrable capabilities to provide payment infrastructure needs for the rest of the industry, ” he said.

NAN