Igbalajobi, who was represented by the SystemSpecs’ Head of Payments Technologyand Infrastructure, Mujib Ishola, stated that fintechs have become an alternative inthefinancialintermediationprocesstraditionallyperformedbybanksandotherlicencedmoneyhandlers.

“Fintechs are making inroads due to a number of factors including their agility andspeed to market, less risk-aversion, focus on service rather than regulation, and thecurrentinefficiencies in theoperationsoftraditional banks,”hesaid.

He added that the rapid growth of digital technology innovation has led to the rise of fintech platforms, facilitating solutions in several areas including mobile money, insurtech, agrictech, crypto transactions, and many others.

“Fintech can be operators that provide direct services to customers. They can provide platforms as a service, develop platforms for other financial entities, or serve as a support platform for ancillary services such as data referencing, data verification, and collection,” he said.

More so, fintechs are focussing on specific areas of customer needs, such as payment, lending, or verification, unlike traditional banks who provide different types of financial services from a single platform.

Armed with the power of modern technology, the tech expert stressed that fintechsaim to replace the current framework of licenced intermediaries and trusted centralgatekeepers.

Igbalajobi said there are still areas of concern as fintech platforms become ever moreimportantasfacilitatorsof financial transactions.

“These include the need for fintech specific regulations as well as compliance with the various regulators in the system such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There are also need for data privacy, data security and stability of the fintech companies themselves, to reduce risk to consumers,” he said.