The conference convened more than 20 leading fintechs and ecosystem stakeholders, including PalmPay, OPay, PayAza, Mastercard, Visa, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, and representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Discussions focused on regulation, innovation, security, and the evolution of payments across the continent.
Opening the event, UBA’s Executive Director, Digital Banking, Emmanuel Lamptey, called for a shift from competition to deliberate partnership.
“The future is not banks versus fintechs, but banks with fintechs. When we combine scale, trust, and regulatory depth with innovation and agility, we unlock a financial system that works for far more Africans.”
From an industry perspective, Peter Ehizogie of Mastercard pointed to Nigeria’s payments evolution as both a catalyst and a caution.
“Each wave of innovation—instant payments, cards, gateways, and now AI—has expanded opportunity while introducing new risks. Collaboration is what ensures progress is sustained, not disrupted.”
