MoMo PSB, fintech experts advocate for collaboration to drive financial inclusion

By Rukayat Moisemhe

MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB), an electronic service provider and fintech stakeholders have called for industry collaboration to drive financial inclusion and improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

They spoke at Momo’s first anniversary and stakeholder forum with the theme; “Driving Financial Inclusion and Cashless Payments”, Wednesday in Lagos.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MoMo PSB, Eli Hini, said the industry collaboration will extend financial services to all Nigerians.

He said the electronic payment volume that jumped 298 percent in the first quarter of 2023 due to the currency crisis reinforced the need for better infrastructure to accommodate the transaction volumes.

Hini emphasized the need to include more women in the financial system, especially those in the retail value chain to experience financial solutions.

“Imagine what it would be like if every adult in Nigeria could access formal financial services, keep, send, receive, spend or invest money through a trusted financial service provider.

“Many people, due to exclusion, have had challenges in meeting basic needs, and have therefore affected their quality of life.

“Companies must rise above vested interests and address challenges impeding financial inclusion in Nigeria and must take advantage of government policies already in place to address these.

“We understand that there are cultural barriers that require constant sensitization, but we must work to improve access to financial inclusion for the rural economy and must continue to build their trust in our service,” he said.

Michael Ajukwu, Chairman of the MoMo PSB Board, announced the company’s commitment to bring the unbanked into the formal system.

Ajukwu expressed gratitude at the extent of internet penetration which he said led to a more fulfilling life.

Co-founder, PiggyVest, Ms Odunayo Eweniyi, also said that achieving the set target of 95 per cent financial inclusion in the country meant deep understanding of the needs of the unbanked and building services that catered and met those needs.

Eweniyi also stressed the need to address infrastructural deficiencies in rural areas and adopt measures to address the gender gap for economic inclusion.

“Women spend more on actual development than men will, and if more women are included; there will actually be significant measurable progress into the space.

“We need to start providing social interventions and affordable services for those we target as much as we also want to make money,” she said.

The Managing Director of Unified Payments, Mr Agada Apochi, said there was the need for Nigerians to start pursuing digital financial inclusion against mere financial inclusion to bridge the financial technology gap.

“The system we need is one where the tradesman you’re going to meet or the kernel selling popcorn, or finger food on the side of the road, can use their phone and number as a payment device versus carrying cash or a vending machine .

“This drives the need to build a larger ecosystem and we need to adopt collaboration and cross-system alliance to draw in larger numbers to really drive the inclusion we need as a country,” he said.

Mr Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-Founder, Andela, stated the need to move from financial inclusion to a multi-dimensional type of inclusion of economic, social and global inclusions.

According to him, payment service players must do what is necessary to put money in people’s pockets and take into account human capital and empower them as agents to enable them to serve society in real tangible ways.

“The most important thing for a nation to be productive is to move from financial to global inclusion and we need to optimize the whole nation for that to move everyone from income level zero to income level plus one,” he said.

Managing Director, Fairmoney, Henry Obiekia, said players and regulators in the sector need to start addressing barriers to financial literacy.

According to him, stakeholders need to start spending time trying to educate people on why financial inclusion is important and create products that suit the consumer and improve their standard of living.

“The real test in February and March due to the monetary crisis reinforced the need to further execute cashless policies, but it was flawed due to the infrastructural deficiencies encountered.

“A lot of people don’t understand financial technology and how it can make their lives better.

“This means we must be ready for the financial inclusion and cashless payment that we want and keep in mind that the mindset for urban areas must be different from that for rural areas,” he said.

Commissioner for Science and Technology, Lagos, HoHakeem Fahm, reiterated the commitment of the state government to continuously provide the enabling environment necessary to promote the growth of businesses in the state.

Fahm revealed that the state had already deployed over 3,000 kilometers of fiber across the state to improve technology access in public institutions, marketplaces and businesses.

“In Lagos, we have adopted a multimodal transport system and use Cowry Card, which is a payment system.

“The same can be extended to the regular commercial buses and this provides a huge market for the private sector to drive the kind of inclusion we are looking at.

“However, continued efforts are required to address infrastructure, cyber security and consumer confidence to create a sustainable and inclusive financial ecosystem in Nigeria,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

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