DevOps engineer Akande Adedayo has urged Nigerian fintech companies to prioritise system stability over rapid user growth, as recurring service failures continue to frustrate customers across the country.
Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics, Adedayo said the prevailing “speed over stability” culture is largely responsible for frequent transaction failures, particularly during peak usage periods.
He noted that many platforms scale aggressively without building the technical capacity required to support growth.
Customers have repeatedly complained about failed transfers, downtime, and unreliable banking channels, especially during public holidays and salary payment cycles. These issues, affecting ATMs, mobile apps, and PoS terminals, are often linked to server overload, outdated infrastructure, and weak network performance.
What the expert is saying
Adedayo explained that many fintech startups prioritise onboarding thousands of users quickly without establishing a strong backend infrastructure.
- “That’s when you have issues of transactions being slow, applications breaking,” he said. “As you grow, make sure that the foundation is solid.”
- “So, if you can get the servers right, the database has a form of caching mechanism, has a form of read replica… that will solve the issue.”
- He advises fintechs to “Buy good servers that can handle those traffics, and optimize your code, your application code, such that it doesn’t take too much from the underlying database”
He added that peak traffic events, such as salary payments or holidays, often overwhelm systems when thousands of users attempt to access services simultaneously, causing database strain and application slowdowns.
- “You want to have different microservices handling different aspects of your application, whether it’s cash withdrawal, whether it’s remittances, whether it’s savings, whether it’s loans.”
He recommended adopting microservices architecture, implementing retry logic, and using database connection pooling to ensure resilience and prevent system-wide crashes.
More insights
Adedayo also highlighted broader infrastructure challenges facing Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, particularly reliance on foreign cloud services.
Nigerian firms are estimated to spend about $850 million annually on foreign cloud infrastructure. He noted that local data centres are not yet viable due to unstable electricity supply and high diesel costs.
- “No, we are not ready yet,” he said, pointing to Nigeria’s “epileptic power” as a major limitation.
He further addressed cybersecurity risks, noting that threats often originate internally rather than from external hackers.
- “A hacker can be somebody that is working inside the company… and get unauthorised information,” he said.
He stressed the need for strict access controls and regular staff training on security awareness.
- On public Wi-Fi, he warned: “Make sure you have your own personal Wi-Fi. It’s part of something we call PCI DSS requirements.”
Adedayo also emphasised the importance of encryption, firewalls, and secure environments in protecting payment systems from breaches.
What you should know
Results from a recent CBN survey signals a shift from viewing fintech as a disruptive force to recognising its foundational role in payments, lending, data, and identity systems across the economy.
The report’s insights stem from stakeholder surveys, closed-door workshops, and roundtables with fintech operators.
Respondents noted widespread use of AI in fraud detection and credit scoring, with real-time payments infrastructure seen as a national strength and global model.
Adedayo maintained that the solution is straightforward: build stronger systems, optimise infrastructure, and stop prioritising rapid expansion over reliability.
