With more than 400 million Africans still excluded from the formal financial system despite growing mobile phone and fintech innovations, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and AfricaNenda Foundation has called for inclusive homegrown payment solutions to promote financial inclusion on the continent.
This charge came as policymakers and financial system leaders from over 10 African countries converged to study Nigeria’s progress in instant payments and explore scalable solutions for their regions.
The managing director and chief executive of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, urged African governments to abandon legacy frameworks and take ownership of their digital payment journeys. “It is time for Africa to cast off the remnants of colonial-era thinking and take bold ownership of its financial future by building payment solutions by Africans, for Africans.”
He also proposed the creation of an Africa Regulators Forum on Digital Payments to harmonize standards, share learnings, and develop regionally rooted platforms.
On his part, the Chief Executive of AfricaNenda Foundation, Dr. Robert Ochola, there is a need for governments and financial stakeholders to shift focus from elite-centric digital infrastructure to systems that serve Africa’s most vulnerable: women, youth, and informal workers.
Pointing out the successes of NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform which processes nearly a billion transactions monthly and connects banks, fintechs, and switches through a 24/7, real-time, and highly secure platform, he said “the real question is: can we build inclusive, scalable systems that serve every citizen, not just the privileged few.”
Ochola stressed that inclusive design must begin at the margins. “We support countries’ technical design. We build regulatory capacity. We convene communities of practice like this. AfricaNenda is here not as a spectator, but as a partner.”
Representing the Central Bank of Nigeria, Musa Jimoh, speaking on behalf of Deputy Governor Phillip Ikeazor, noted that the challenge is not competition among financial institutions, but the enduring dominance of cash. He called for regulators to prioritize collaboration, saying, “Let us rise above jurisdictional silos and come together as Africans.”
