The pandemic has put the emphasis on banks cutting costs and digitisation, with customers handling transactions on their phones and computers instead of queues at crowded bank branches. This puts the emphasis squarely on mobile money, fintech and digital currencies. Banks and fintech companies are jostling for position, sometimes working together, sometime poaching business, and competing intensely to recruit top IT staff. A majority of Africa’s newly emerging “unicorns” – tech companies valued at over $1bn each – focus on payments. Nigeria’s Interswitch, which offers payment cards and digital payments and processes most of Nigeria’s electronic bank, government and corporate transactions, passed $1bn in 2019.
Source : African Business
