With the introduction of central bank digital currencies and the rise of Blockchain, regulation is a critical infrastructure tool in Nigeria for seamless adoption.
This was revealed on Monday by Sam Lee, founder of Blockchain Center, and Jeffrey Wu, CEO of Actionable Strategies, at the 2nd Edition of the Africa Cashless Payment Conference.
They stated that the emphasis should be on driving adoption, which must occur in all areas and for all types of merchandise.
Sam Lee stated that money digitization is unavoidable and more efficient and that Blockchain fosters trust and transparency, with regulatory challenges to come in order to avoid clashes.
He said:
In six years ( 2014-2020) growth of digital payment in China helped China move into mobile infrastructure ( Alipay, WeChatPay) and a key pillar lifting people out of poverty and connecting them to global opportunities.
He added that big data uses AI to improve insights obtained from digital purchases, citing that,
Blockchain, enables payments Infrastructure for trust, transparency, and efficiency. This can be done through better regulation, as focus needs to be on driving adoption, which has to be driven in all areas for all types of merchandise.
Blockchain accelerates digital payment and needs regulation as a key infrastructure tool such as the Nigerian E- naira.
Jeffrey Wu stated that digital currencies are enablers that make the technology needed for it viable.
Digital application can enable Africa from the most unbanked to rapid economic growth for a huge number of people. Achieving critical mass adoption is just as important as the technology itself. Platform development must be designed to current systems but need better long-term adoption for technology uses.
He stated that investment flows freely to opportunities that are viable and provide realistic returns and that focusing on the population will not get investments, as the focus should be on driving adoption, which must be driven in all areas for all types of merchants.
Government t entities must also reduce friction adoption and boost adoption that will help private stakeholders towards a cashless society adoption, he said.
According to research, the era of cash-based transactions is gradually fading as more cashless forms of payment are developed and adopted in the Nigerian financial industry.
This comes as the use of cashless payment methods such as POS terminals, instant bank transfers, mobile transfers, and others has already increased significantly in the country. Tokenization is one such innovation.
Interswitch and Mastercard are two companies at the forefront of these innovations. Interswitch recently partnered with Providus Bank, Mastercard, and Thales to launch a contactless Tap-to-Pay transaction through smart devices. Cardholders can use the service to make fast, secure, and convenient in-store payments by tapping their NFC-enabled smart device at any contactless payment terminal.
