The Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr. Chika Nwosu, has noted that the steps being taken by the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), are geared at consolidating the gains of the financial technology sector and ensuring an ecosystem that thrives against all odds.
In a TV interview, Nwosu spoke glowingly on policies and the efforts of Fintech firms to satisfy customer needs, and security of their transactions. He noted that Nigerians are “highly compliant when it comes to digital payment”
Speaking on the positive impact of some of government policies on financial transaction, Nwosu noted: “Whatever that is happening with regulation is for the good of the Fintech space in Nigeria. Initially, when we started, there was an issue of trust. However, I can tell you now that the last one year, after the cashless policy, has seen the trust start to grow”.
He revealed that they have had several meetings with different stakeholders, including the NSA, EFCC, and CBN, and within the Fintech ecosystem, and that everything that is happening is for good. “There are no issues. Everything happening is just to make Fintech in Nigeria to be better, and offer better services to the people.”
While appraising the efforts of the Fintech ecosystem, he noted that the financial technology sector in Nigeria has grown so big in a very short time. “So, what the regulators are trying to do is to get it right at the inception. So that it will be to the benefit of the Fintech, the government, and also for the people of Nigeria. Doing business in Nigeria for us is not easy but Nigerians are embracing our App and digital payment”
The Managing Director emphasised the unwavering support PalmPay has for regulators in regulating the Fintech ecosystem, underscoring the fact that all the regulators want to do is make the services of strong players in the Fintech space, such as PalmPay, better.
When quizzed about the problem of failed transfers, he said: “Every institution has its business strategy and infrastructure, for us and the majority of Fintechs, we have a structure that makes transactions seamless”.
On the recent onboarding policy by the CBN, he stated that PalmPay agreed with the regulators on some grey areas that needed to be put in place. While emphasizing that any Fintech company will be granted automatic permission to continue onboarding new subscribers, Nwosu reassured prospective PalmPay customers that it will, just like other Fintech that were yet to complete their, resume onboarding as soon as those general grey areas are attended to. As at interview time, no Fintech platform had completed any of the requirements set out by the regulators. So no onboarding is currently taking place in the entire ecosystem, however normal transactions are still ongoing with existing customers.
PalmPay, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and insured by the Nigeria Deposits Insurance Corporation (NDIC), has walk-in offices in Lagos, at Ikeja GRA and Opebi, with offices also locations across 25 states in Nigeria.
