E-Financial
Africa’s Payment Space Absorbs COVID – 19 Impact, Returns to Growth
Globally, as well as in Africa, the payments industry suffered a much-smaller-than-anticipated impact from the COVID-19 crisis and has returned to growth with renewed momentum, according to a new report, titled Global Payments 2021: All In for Growth, by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
This 19th annual analysis by BCG of the global payments industry reports that the sector responded quickly to challenges posed by the pandemic, from e-commerce adoption to accelerating cash-to-noncash conversion.
Global payments revenues declined by only 2.5% from 2019 to 2020, to US$1.5-trillion, and they could reach US$2.9-trillion by 2030.
BCG’s five-year outlook suggests that global payments revenues will expand by a healthy 7.3% from 2020 to 2025. All regions are likely to see strong growth over the next five years, with the Middle East and Africa expected to enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% from 2020 to 2025. This follows closely behind the global leader, Asia-Pacific, which is expected to have a CAGR of 8.8%.
“This growth forecast makes the Middle East and Africa one of the world’s strongest frontiers for payments. This is a huge region, however, with very different market characteristics from one sub-region to another – and despite challenges around less developed banking infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, we believe that Africa is poised to see significant payments growth,” says Tijsbert Creemers, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, and co-author of the report.
In Africa, this growth has been and will continue to be augmented by high mobile penetration driving digital ecosystems and platform solutions.
Like payments front-runners China and India, the continent’s explosive digital payments evolution will be driven by local dynamics that include strong consumer interest in using mobile money and low card and banking penetration, BCG states.
The business strategy and tech solutions consultancy says South Africa is a mature market in terms of payments infrastructure. Most major banks in the country have enabled digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and the country’s retail real-time payments system is expected to launch in 2022.
In countries like Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire, mobile wallets and money have already largely displaced cash – which is costly and dangerous to carry – and opened access to financial services products, driving financial inclusion in a region where this has traditionally been a challenge.
“With the right strategies in place and ongoing investment in creating a rich customer experience that meets customer needs, mobile payments players in Africa should continue to see strong growth in this highly competitive space,” says Creemers.
These opportunities extend to ecosystems, which have expanded rapidly in the past few years, too, with payments players capturing as much as two-thirds of the region’s Fintech funding in 2019.
Both banks and Fintechs across Africa have consistently continued to innovate to address challenges in critical sectors such as agriculture, education, and healthcare, as well as in driving financial inclusion across the continent – and, in line with global trends, after years of strong growth, Fintechs are entering a stage of more mature development.
“There is plenty of movement in this high-value area, in terms of innovation and in terms of industry consolidation and M&A, as banks increasingly acquire Fintechs and start-ups to achieve greater scale and improve risk modelling capabilities to accommodate growth in payments and finance products,” says Creemers.
Banks and networks across the continent have shown they are not standing idle in the face of rapid innovation and competition from mobile network operators and Fintechs – they are re-engaging in payments as a strategic play to acquire data and create rich interactions with customers.
In addition to deal-making through M&A, consolidation and merchant acquiring, they are modernising their payments technology and leveraging their geographical footprint to introduce innovative payments services.
They are also increasingly using insights from payment data and transactional behaviour to provide a rich customer experience and to add value by offering personalised services and solutions that are built around customer behaviour.
These advances are accompanied by emerging trends around faster adoption of digital currency activity, and focusing on regulations around payments.
“Globally, the intensity around digital currencies is growing, and although it isn’t a major trend in South Africa or the rest of Africa yet, it is going to require scale in the next five to 10 years when it becomes more mainstream, and banks will need to have a digital currency strategy incorporating risk mitigation in place,” says Creemers.
Likewise, banks and payments players will need to focus on evolving regulations, and finding the balance between speeding up payments innovation by removing unnecessary red tape and maintaining the integrity of payments through sound regulatory frameworks.
“As it stands, the payments ecosystem is thriving in South Africa and across Africa, and the opportunity to increase adoption of digital payments across the continent could allow Africa to leapfrog more mature markets, where cards remain the primary instrument for some time.
“This will require a clear strategy around where to invest to capture future valuables that deliver innovation, growth, customer value and financial inclusion,” says Creemers.
Federal Ministry of Finance has halted enforcement of about N680 million in disputed fees imposed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation (Nig Re) as part of the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The Ministry also directed NAICOM to suspend its demand that the two companies transfer their entire recapitalisation funds into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pending determination of a petition challenging the legality of the charges and the directive.
The intervention followed a July 27, 2026 petition by NICON and Nig Re over what they described as unlawful fees and regulatory demands arising from the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
In a letter to the Commissioner for Insurance, Raymond Omachi, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, on behalf of Taiwo Oyedele, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, requested that NAICOM provide a detailed response and legal justification for the disputed requirements.
The Ministry specifically directed the Commission to suspend enforcement of the contested processing and verification fees, the one per cent Capital Injection Fee, and the directive requiring the companies to transfer their full recapitalisation funds to a CBN escrow account.
The dispute centres on NAICOM’s assessment of a one per cent fee on capital injected by operators, alongside additional processing and verification charges prescribed under Appendix 2 of the Commission’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines.
According to the petition, the combined assessments amounted to N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nig Re, bringing the disputed charges to N680 million.
The companies are also challenging what they described as an unconstitutional requirement to transfer more than the statutory proportion of their recapitalisation funds to the CBN.
They contend that Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025 provides for a 10 per cent statutory deposit, and not the transfer of the entire capital injection into an escrow account.
The companies told the Ministry that they had already met the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
NICON said it injected N420 billion, while Nig Re injected N30 billion into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank Limited. The companies maintained that the amounts exceeded their adjusted recapitalisation requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion, respectively.
They further stated that they had deposited N42.5 billion and N43.5 billion respectively with the CBN, in compliance with the statutory deposit requirement under Section 16(3) of the new law.
The companies also disclosed that they had made initial payments of N480 million and N75 million, respectively, in fees.
The Finance Ministry’s directive effectively places the disputed charges and escrow requirement on hold while NAICOM is expected to justify the legal and regulatory basis for its actions.
The intervention could have wider implications for the insurance industry’s recapitalisation programme, particularly as operators face regulatory deadlines to strengthen their capital base under the new insurance law.
The controversy also raises questions about the extent to which regulatory guidelines can impose additional financial obligations on operators beyond those expressly provided for under the enabling legislation.
NAICOM is now expected to respond to the Ministry’s request and explain the statutory basis for the one per cent capital injection fee, the additional processing and verification charges, and the requirement for the full capital injection to be transferred into a CBN escrow account.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a nationwide awareness campaign aimed at helping investors and beneficiaries recover unclaimed dividends and inherited investments, as part of efforts to strengthen investor protection and reduce the volume of dormant assets in Nigeria’s capital market.
The initiative, unveiled in Abuja through the Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic, seeks to educate investors, beneficiaries and estate executors on probate procedures, estate administration and the processes involved in accessing financial assets left behind by deceased relatives.
Speaking at the event, Dr Emomotimi Agama, the Director-General of the SEC, said the Commission was addressing a long-standing challenge that had prevented many families from accessing investments belonging to deceased relatives.
Agama said many beneficiaries face difficulties obtaining probate, letters of administration, death certificates and other documents required to claim shares, dividends and other financial assets.
“For many Nigerian families, the death of a loved one who held shares, dividends or other investments marks the beginning of a long and often confusing journey,” he said.
According to him, the complexity surrounding estate administration often leaves beneficiaries unable to access legitimate investments and other financial assets inherited from deceased relatives.
He described unclaimed dividends and dormant assets as a major concern for the Nigerian capital market, noting that the funds represent money that should be benefiting families but remains idle because beneficiaries are unable to access them.
“Across our market, unclaimed dividends and dormant assets represent real money—money that belongs to real families, sitting idle, disconnected from the people it was meant to serve,” Agama said.
The SEC DG said the Commission was committed to bridging the gap through policy reforms, investor education and sustained engagement with investors, beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the capital market.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that investors and their families were adequately informed about the procedures for documenting, preserving and transferring financial assets to beneficiaries.
Agama said the awareness campaign would also provide an avenue for members of the public to better understand probate processes and the requirements for recovering unclaimed monies and inherited investments.
Also speaking, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, Ms Nkechinyelu Okoye, identified poor awareness and inadequate estate planning as major factors contributing to the accumulation of unclaimed financial assets.
Okoye said some beneficiaries were unaware that financial assets such as shares and dividends formed part of a deceased person’s estate, while others did not know that their deceased relatives had investments in the capital market.
She added that some beneficiaries were also unfamiliar with the documentation and legal procedures required to establish their entitlement and successfully claim the assets.
According to her, these challenges often result in financial assets remaining unclaimed for extended periods, even when legitimate beneficiaries are available.
The initiative is expected to improve public awareness of probate and estate administration procedures while helping more families identify and recover investments and other financial assets belonging to them.
It is also part of broader efforts to reduce the volume of unclaimed dividends and dormant assets in the capital market and ensure that funds belonging to investors and their beneficiaries are returned to their rightful owners.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, africa’s global bank, has partnered Mikano Motors to launch an auto financing scheme, themed: ‘Drive Your Dream Today’, specifically designed to ease the purchase of new vehicles by making them more accessible to Nigerians.
General Manager, Mikano Motors, Tarek Mostafa; Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, United Bank for Africa, Chidi Okpala and National Operations Manager, Syam Abdulkadir, during a partnership signing between both parties, themed: ‘Drive Your Dreams Today’, a Flexible vehicle financing solutions, initiative at the Mikano Showroom in Victoria Island
The flexible Financing solutions Initiative, requires customers to make an initial payment of just 30 percent while the Bank finances the remaining 70 percent.
Unveiled at the Mikano Motors showroom in Victoria Island, Lagos, the scheme allows eligible customers to repay the financed amount in instalments over a period of 36 months at an interest rate of 23 percent.
The financing is available to a broad range of customers, including individuals who are not on a salaried income, providing entrepreneurs, and other eligible Nigerians with a structured pathway to vehicle ownership.
The process begins with a simple eligibility check. Interested customers can visit their nearest UBA branch or email [email protected] to confirm their eligibility. Once approved, customers can proceed to Mikano Motors to obtain a proforma invoice for their preferred vehicle and continue with the financing process.
Speaking at the launch, UBA’s Group Executive Director, designate, Personal and Business Banking, Chidi Okpala, said the partnership reflects the Bank’s commitment to making everyday aspirations more attainable while promoting a stronger credit culture and advancing financial inclusion.
“Owning a car should not be out of reach for hardworking Nigerians, and this partnership makes it far more achievable,” Okpala said. “A customer puts down 30 percent, we finance the rest, and they pay us back comfortably over a three years period. By removing the single biggest barrier to vehicle ownership where a customer just commits with an upfront cost, we are showing what customer-first banking looks like in practice, which is making their lives easier, by meeting our customers where they are and helping them get where they want to be.”
Also speaking, UBA’s Group Head, Consumer Lending, Frank Okoh, said the scheme was designed to make vehicle financing straightforward and accessible to both salaried and self-employed customers.
“We have kept the entry simple and the terms clear, whether you earn a salary or run your own business,” Okoh said. “A short eligibility check at any branch or by email is all it takes to begin, and our team guides the customer through every step to the moment they collect their keys.”
For Mikano Motors, the partnership provides an opportunity to extend its vehicle ownership proposition to a wider pool of Nigerians
The company’s General Manager, Tarek Mostafa, said the collaboration aligns with Mikano Motors’ vision of providing customers with a high-end ownership experience supported by reliable after-sales services.
“Mikano Motors was established to give Nigerians a high-end ownership experience, from the showroom to years down the road,” Mostafa said. “The backbone of any automotive business is not just the sale, but the after-sales service that follows. Every vehicle we sell is backed by genuine spare parts, reliable maintenance and quality service available anywhere in the country. Wherever you are we would come meet you at no extra cost”
“Partnering with UBA lets more customers enjoy that experience, and we are proud to build lasting relationships alongside a bank that shares our commitment to service,” he added.
Established in 2018 under Mikano International, Mikano Motors builds on more than 35 years of the group’s presence in Nigeria. The company offers a diversified portfolio of vehicles supported by nationwide sales and after-sales services.
The partnership further strengthens UBA’s consumer lending proposition, providing customers with structured financing solutions designed around accessibility, affordability and convenience. Through partnerships such as this, the Bank continues to expand access to credit while helping customers meet significant personal and lifestyle needs with ease.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.
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