CBN Issues AIP Licence To RoutePay For Digital Payment Services

In line with its agenda of ensuring the financial inclusion of the Nigerian populace, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted an Approval In Principle (AIP) licence to RoutePay Fintech Limited to provide digital payment products and services in Nigeria.

RoutePay is managed by a team of astute professionals with deep knowledge and understanding of the digital payment systems in Nigeria. According to Mr. Femi Adeoti, The group managing director, “The CBN approval, a mark of the company’s trustworthiness in the financial services industry, is a crucial development in RoutePay’s objective of ensuring that digital payment solutions are made possible and available without hassles”.

The AIP is the first step toward a final commercial license approval which is dependent on the fulfilment of all the conditions stipulated by the CBN.

The license will enable the company to carry out activities around wallet creation and management, e-money issuing, USSD, agent recruitment and management, pool account management, and any other activities as permitted by the CBN.

The chief executive officer of RoutePay, Abayomi Olomu affirms that the company will be providing access to all its products and services using multiple channels, bearing in mind various factors including differences in literacy level, geographical locations, age, and financial capacity of its users among others. He said it will also work with the CBN to meet the conditions for receiving a full operating commercial license.

When launched, Olomu said RoutePay is intent on enhancing connections between the parties in the payment space and driving digital payment transformation in a changing and demanding world.

“RoutePay products and services are omnichannel – available across all channels of payments including Web, Mobile, POS, ATM, and USSD, etc. It also has an array of products and services targeting different market segments, demography, inclinations, and leanings.

“We are making digital payment products and services available to all and sundry regardless of their exposure, technology awareness, location, age, affluence, and education,” he said.

Olomu explained that the growing need for improved processes, services, products, and accessibility in the digital payment and financial technology industry informed the company’s vision and mission which are geared towards being the payment solution of choice across borders as well as delivering payment solutions across borders.

According to him, users/consumers are getting more aware, and the expectations are getting higher and more ambitious. “They are asking for more beyond what is presently obtainable and available. They want a system that is “Unlimited,” “Without Borders.” The world is changing rapidly,’’ he said.

Olomu further noted that Nigeria currently has a lot of service providers in the financial technology and digital payments space, yet more than 85 percent of financial exchanges are still done via cash. “There are several reasons for this low rate of adoption despite all the awareness, products, services, government policies investment in this sector. These reasons are what we term as Pain Points.”

“Pain points differ by business segments, user base, providers, etc. Some are general and peculiar to the entire industry like issues of reliability of channels. There are specific issues like Trust- some people still won’t use the cards to make online payments because of the fear of fraud, etc. Some are concerned about the commercials and the cost of using the payment channels.

“All these concerns and many others are what we have termed as Pain Points and RoutePay is all out to fix these concerns in very innovative ways.”

Leveraging technology, he said the company has deployed an intelligent customer experience survey system to capture feedback from users in order to listen to their expectations and adjust products, services, and processes required to eliminate pain points.