Leverage Cyber Security Systems For Improved Services – Interswitch

Africa’s integrated payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch, has stated the need to drive Fintech growth by leveraging banking infrastructure with cyber security systems to transcend into new geographies and explore global trends.

The Fintech firm urged conventional banks and lending institutions to equip staffs with risk-based strategies to tackle fraud and syndicate crimes in the banking sector.

The Fintech company also stated the need to expand business operations in digital payment technology through scaling, adapting and advancing Fintechs in areas of tokenization services, APIs, mobile wallet, cross border payments and to drive financial inclusion amongst SMEs.

Interswitch Group explained that in a move to advance Fintechs to explore new geographies there is need to operate beyond local boundaries by transcending digital banking to break barriers of cross-border payment across Africa.

Speaking earlier, Interswitch Business Development manager, Financial Services Business, Chijioke Eze said, the digital payment and mobile channel space is the most exploited channel used by fraudsters to perpetrate financial crimes and different kinds of fraud while reiterating the need for traditional banks and Fintechs to tighten weak controls in areas of cyber crime and identity fraud.

Chijioke Eze while speaking on fraud risk management and cybercrime at the TechConnect 3.0 event recently held in Lagos posited that so many organisation have lost revenues in terms of cybercrime while urging organisations to out appropriate structures in place tackle fraud and financial crimes.

He suggested that banks and Fintechs groups should leverage cyber security systems to curtail fraud and financial risk amongst financial service operators to enable Fintechs to leap for growth across border payments.

He said, for Fintechs to enhance recovery, there is need to educate staffs and technology players on fraud education adding that there is a lot of collusion among internal and external actors who divulge certain information to fraudsters to embark on financial crimes.

Also speaking at the event, managing director, Payment Processing and Switching, Interswitch Purepay, Akeem Lawal emphasised on the need to explore global trends in digital payment technology. He stressed on the importance of partnership to increase the country’s chances of a successful digital transformation. 

According to Lawal, “TechConnect 3.0 exhibits Interswitch’s unwavering commitment to leading the charge in the advancement of the payment ecosystem. Interswitch has been at the frontiers of innovation in Africa particularly in the financial sector and is utilizing cutting-edge technological solutions that can facilitate contactless payment transactions. 

“Today, Interswitch’s digital innovation cuts across peer-to-peer lending, bots, biometrics, mobile banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and decentralized finance (DeFi), among others to help address scaling challenges and empower individuals and communities to break free from the clutches of poverty.” 

Lawal further stated that “Partnership and strong ties are the cornerstones of transformation in today’s rapidly dynamic digital world. This is why, Interswitch will continue to leverage partnership to drive the growth of the payment industry.” 

The TechConnect 3.0 event brought together eggheads across the fintech sector, banks, and other financial institutions who expounded on the theme “Adapting, Scaling, and Advancing with Fintech.” 

The event showcased a platform where industry players shared at varying lengths data-driven strategies, empirical expositions, projected trends, and forecasts to industry challenges, and weighed in on steps to be taken within the financial sector to nimbly adapt to changing technological and economic conditions, scale operations, and advance its services to better serve a wide spectrum of customers.

This is as the panelists discussed how financial institutions could leverage technology to address the challenges associated with cross-border payments enabling individuals, business owners and SMEs transact seamlessly and deepen financial inclusion across the African market.  

The panelists pointed out that intra-sector partnerships would enable financial firms drive growth and create a formidable ecosystem through unique products such as API gateway, mobile wallet, tokenization, and more.

Awards were presented to First Bank, UBA, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Premium Trust Bank, Opay, Moniepoint and Accion MFB, among others, in acknowledgement of their laudable contributions to the sector, and as part of Interswitch’s reaffirmation as a collaborative enabler.