At the third edition of the Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 3.0), leaders across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem shifted focus from expanding access to strengthening the infrastructure that supports digital finance.
While the past decade prioritised onboarding more Nigerians into the financial system, the forum highlighted a new urgency: building reliable, resilient, and trusted systems capable of sustaining long-term growth.
Bringing together stakeholders from Fintech, Regulatory, and Agency Banking sectors, discussions centred on the evolution of financial inclusion.
The consensus was clear: Access alone is no longer enough. Trust, usability, and consistent performance at scale are now critical.
A key issue raised was transaction failure, especially among underserved users, which can quickly erode confidence in digital platforms.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria, Chika Nwosu, emphasised that trust must be built through a reliable payment infrastructure.
“PalmPay has prioritised infrastructure, achieving transaction success rates of 99.95 per cent, an important benchmark for adoption and confidence.” Mr Chika Nwosu noted that inconsistent transactions experienced by users partly drive financial exclusion in Nigeria. The forum also underscored the importance of practical, user-focused innovation. Embedded finance, the integration of financial services into everyday platforms, was identified as the future, particularly for Nigeria’s informal economy.
Participants further explored expanding access to credit by leveraging transaction data to build financial identities, addressing gaps in formal credit systems. Agent networks were highlighted as essential for last-mile delivery, especially in rural areas, where human interaction remains key to building trust. While technologies like AI and blockchain offer opportunities in fraud detection and credit scoring, speakers stressed that innovation must be purposeful and supported by strong infrastructure and regulation.
Collaboration emerged as a central theme, with calls for deeper partnerships across fintechs, banks, telecoms, and regulators. Ultimately, the forum concluded that Nigeria’s financial future will be defined not just by access, but by reliability, trust, payment security, and how well systems serve everyday users.
About PalmPay
PalmPay is a leading digital banking platform driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved emerging markets. Through its secure, user-friendly, and inclusive suite of financial services, PalmPay empowers individuals and businesses with tools to manage and grow their money.
PalmPay offers a comprehensive range of products, including mobile payments, savings, and micro-insurance via its app and mobile money agent network.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator license, the platform has grown to over 35 million app users and processes up to 15 million transactions daily. For more information, visit www.palmpay.com
