UBA’s RedPay Revolution: How Traditional Banks Are Striking Back In PoS Market War

Nigeria’s financial landscape has undergone a seismic transformation over the past decade, with the country’s Point of Sale (PoS) payment market serving as ground zero for one of the most dramatic disruptions in modern banking history. What began as a modest ₦285.9 million market by volume transactions in 2018 has exploded into a ₦18 trillion juggernaut by 2024, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc; a 6,296,157 per cent increase that represents far more than mere growth statistics.

This growth in transactions was powered by Fintechs, and as of 2025, the narrative is taking an intriguing turn. The very banks that once dominated Nigeria’s financial sector before being unseated by fintech are now mounting an aggressive counteroffensive.

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, rolled out over 46,000 upgraded terminals to small businesses as demand for UBA’s PoS surged. UBA, with its RedPay, has brought to the fore instant settlement, which ensures that funds are credited to merchant accounts immediately.

Group head, Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, who emphasised the game-changing ability of the bank’s new PoS, noted that demand for the product has surged astronomically as small and medium businesses want to get their hands on it due to its improved efficiency, allowing merchants to monitor their sales remotely and receive their money immediately.

“The reception for our PoS has been immense, and this can be seen by how much we have distributed in such a short time. The prospects are very large; we get calls from traders of all capacities and volumes demanding more terminals after a trial,” Shamsideen said.

“The demand is driven by the features these terminals pack, as many attest they have not seen similar offerings in the industry, especially with the monitoring feature and increased security that we have enabled.”

The scale of UBA’s commitment is noteworthy as the bank has deployed over 6,000 RedPay PoS terminals since January 2025, with another 40,000 planned for the coming months; the bank is making an investment that few fintech companies could match. But scale alone is not the determinant of UBA’s resurgence; the bank has adopted an approach that combines fintech-like features with traditional banking strengths. The RedPay terminals offer the instant settlements and device speed that merchants have come to expect from fintech providers while adding the regulatory stability and institutional trust that only established banks can provide.

Merchant feedback suggests this hybrid approach may be finding its mark. Somtochukwu Chibueze, a manager at a filling station with branches across town, switched from a popular fintech company to UBA’s RedPay and highlights the practical advantages that RedPay offers to its customers.

“While fintechs allow you to view transactions on-terminal, RedPay offers the added convenience of remote access, which means I can be in my office here and see all transactions made on terminals from my screen, and also generate a very comprehensive report for decision-making. This is a manager’s dream,” he explains. “This transaction visibility empowers me to make better business decisions, such as allocating more products to specific stores and advising customers on banks with less downtime for transfers.”

The remote monitoring capabilities that merchants like Chibueze value represent a sophisticated understanding of how small business owners actually operate. Many merchants manage multiple locations or spend significant time away from their primary point of sale. The ability to monitor transactions and perform settlements remotely via laptop or phone addresses real operational challenges that static terminal-based systems couldn’t solve.

Security represents another area where traditional banks believe they can differentiate themselves. As fraud rates have increased across PoS platforms, UBA’s emphasis on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance, end-to-end encryption, tokenization, and secure PIN entry reflects institutional expertise in risk management that newer companies are still developing.

“When it comes to security in finance, banks do it best. We invest huge resources in this endeavor, which helps keep funds safe, and most importantly, we operate in a very strictly regulated and insured sector; hence, you will always get every penny you deposit or transact with us back,” Shamsideen said.

Kolapo Oluwo, a renowned tech expert and reviewer, who praised the terminal’s engineering and interface as among the finest in the industry, highlighted the exceptional UI and UX, emphasizing that the design prioritizes customer experience above all else.

“Great design is about creating seamless, intuitive experiences that delight users. When UI/UX is crafted with the customer in mind, it significantly increases usability, fosters engagement, and ultimately builds trust”

Oluwo continued that “Many tech firms fail to consider this; a sleek, well-thought-out design doesn’t just look good; it makes interactions smoother, reducing friction and elevating the overall experience. This UBA PoS is a prime example of how thoughtful design can transform technology into something both powerful and pleasurable to use.”

Merchants who now use both fintech and traditional banking PoS solutions, like beauty products dealer Motunde Adekunbi, who operates UBA RedPay, Opay, and Moniepoint terminals simultaneously, may represent the future of this market. Rather than winner-take-all competition, Nigeria’s payments ecosystem appears to be evolving toward specialisation, where different providers excel in different use cases and customer segments.

The bank’s value-added features bundle reveals how traditional banks are thinking about ecosystem competition rather than point solutions. RedPay terminals come integrated with agency banking through UBA’s revamped MONI App, real-time fund transfers, BVN/NIN-based account opening, airtime and bill payments, and instant settlements into digital wallets. This integration represents a level of service comprehensiveness that individual fintech companies struggle to match.

The competitive pressure between fintechs and traditional banks is driving innovation and service improvements that benefit all market participants which allow merchants to gain access to better services and more choices, while consumers benefit from an increasingly sophisticated and accessible financial services ecosystem.