Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch, has highlighted the need for deeper collaboration among players in the digital payment ecosystem to boost the security of data and funds of Nigerians.
This was one of the solutions proffered for improved detection and prevention of fraud in the ecosystem by the tech giant firm’s representative, Ejike Ngene, Head, Banking Technologies, (Interswitch Systegra). This contribution was made recently at the 2022 BusinessDay ‘Future of Payments and Fraud’ Conference.
Ngene made the submission during a panel discussion where leaders in Nigeria’s financial technology space engaged in the conversations around effective ways to create a fool proof system against fraud.
According to him, the payment space has grown explosively, not only in Nigeria but also globally, adding that Interswitch, as a leader in the space, has put together some preventive measures that aim to address the prevailing issue of payment fraud in the country.
He explained that Interswitch has continued to invest in robust systems that pre-empt fraudulent activities with fortified protocols that undermine fraud within the payment ecosystem in Nigeria.
As a whole, the panel agreed that to create a fortified system against fraud, more skilled hands would be required, especially in view of the current skill deficit in the field exacerbated by the continued exodus of trained labour to other countries across the world. The panellists also cited aggressive training of Nigerian youths as a necessary step to be taken.
Speaking on what Interswitch was doing to bridge the skills gap, Ngene pointed out that the tech firm’s internship programme was designed to groom tech-inclined Nigerians and to support the current workforce. He said “To close the skillset gap, Interswitch is training and retraining Nigerians to create systems and solutions that will manage challenges bedevilling the digital payment ecosystem in Nigeria.”
Also commenting on the ongoing collaborations between fintechs and traditional financial institutions, the Group Chief Audit Executive, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Uduak Nelson Udoh, commended the level of collaboration which has resulted in the introduction of tailor-made solutions for the benefit of the customers.
