Telecom
Why PalmPay Is Playing Big in the Digital Banking Space- Chika Nwosu
PalmPay, a leading Africa-focused fintech platform, has said that the future of money is now; therefore, the company has put in place adequate infrastructure, and the right measures to ensure that its millions of customers are guaranteed adequate security.
Speaking while making a presentation titled “Future of Money, Security, Customer Experience (CX)” at the Africa Tech Alliance (AfriTECH 3.0) held at The Providence Hotel, Ikeja GRA, last week, Mr. Chika Nwosu, the Managing Director of PalmPay, said that besides the operator putting the right things in place, the consumers also must the aware of how to protect themselves.
Nwosu who was represented at the Forum by Temitayo Oduwole, Head of IT and Payments at PalmPay, recounted the origin of money and its evolution to this moment and said that people are gradually moving away from paper money, where physical cash transactions are made, to what is today known as digital money where online and digital transactions now hold sway.
“All the services that we need are driven by technology, even the medium of exchange is also driven by technology. And the future of money right now is digital. If you look at the before and the now, right now because money has gone digital, we are experiencing a kind of transformation in the digital space. In terms of convenience, in terms of the ease of payment, that is what the future of money holds and that’s what we’re getting right now.
“I’m sure most people don’t even go around with cash again. Any transaction that you want to do, you can easily do that transaction on your phone, using your mobile wallet, using your card. So that is how money has transformed from being a cash-oriented medium to a digital medium right now,” he said.
Nwosu said PalmPay was prepared for this new regime of money and put a lot of robust infrastructure in place for risk management aimed at balancing the user experience with security in its app, adding that it has ensured that at any point in time, it puts measures in place that forestall a customer’s account being compromised.
“We have an AI in place, a logic that understands the pattern of your account, the pattern of your transaction. If it sees that somebody is doing something irrational or something out of the ordinary that you do on a normal day, because of the pattern that we’ve been able to build, we can block that transaction.
“And because we’re also going to have to look at technology-as-a-service, rather than having our infrastructure on prep, we’re having our infrastructure on the cloud. These are things that speak to infrastructure as a service, and technology-as-a-service, and are driving our reliability and sustainability today,” Nwosu said.
Nwosu admitted that though digital money is essential due to its speed, convenience, and accessibility, it also comes with its own threats and its own security challenges, especially in the face of nefarious activities around cybercrime.
“There are different channels by which people can access their money. However, in accessing this money, there is a potential challenge of having your funds being taken over by some people that you don’t want them to have access to it. There are lots of things happening around the future of money in terms of safety and in terms of security.
“We have online fraud. We have a local simulation. Identity theft is on the rise. We are being infused into devices, into servers. We have phishing in which e-mails are sent to deceive you to believe that the e-mails are coming from a genuine source. These are things that can affect or impact the digital money currency.
“The most important thing, again, is that at any point in time, as much as we are creating the environment to make sure that fraud is actually reduced in terms of cyber security, we are addressing all the things that need to be addressed so that from a digital money perspective, we are able to access the money without any fear. We can do a transaction without any fear.
“It’s also very important to understand that any time a fraud happens, a notification is very important. Next slide, please. Lack of security awareness is top of the reasons why consumers are scammed or defrauded.
“And what we try to do in PalmPay is to raise that awareness, to let our customers know that their personal information is only personal to them,” he said.
The Managing Director stated that lack of knowledge to protect personal information, patronizing fake sites and social media pages, and attempts or pivots on unofficial channels, are some of the things that could lead to customers being scammed or defrauded.
On PalmPay’s approach to enhancing customer security on its app, Nwosu said over the past four years it has been in the Nigerian market, it has been able to marry security with customer experience, which has remained the attraction to its brand.
“What we’ve done is binding. Your phone is bound such that even if you change your phone, you put in your credentials, and there’s an OTP that has been sent to revalidate and authorize the customer who is trying to do that transaction.
“One of the other things that we’ve also done to make sure that our customers are well protected is to have an inactive session set up.
“An inactive session has to do with if you’re not doing anything on your app, then it’s time out. It doesn’t give room for people to have access to that phone or your mobile app and try to do something. Because if you keep the mobile app up, anybody could actually have access to it, and they could do any transaction.
“Not to forget the fact that for every transaction that you do as well, it’s been enabled. We have a metric just to make sure that it is the right person that is accessing your account at any point in time,” Nwosu concluded.
Seamfix, a global digital identity solutions provider, has secured $4.5 million from Alitheia IDF, a gender lens investing fund, in a private equity funding round.
Seamfix executives
The firm plans to use the new capital injection to scale its technology infrastructure that underpins its solutions, improve data flow crucial for continental trade and integration, and kickstart the expansion of its digital ID and credential services into five new African countries.
“We are thrilled to announce this new funding, which marks a significant milestone in our journey of shaping the future of digital ID verification in Africa and connecting Africa to the rest of the world.” Chimezie Emewulu, group CEO, and co-founder of Seamfix, said.
”Digital identity is a right – not a privilege – and this belief underpins our innovation and commitment to enabling individuals and businesses in Africa to access all the benefits that come with having verifiable identities. This investment not only validates our vision but also empowers us to expand our reach and innovate further.”
Starting in Nigeria, Seamfix provides identity creation, verification and transaction accreditation solutions for large organisations and government agencies across multiple African countries.
The new funding represents Seamfix’s first institutional investment, and it will enable the company to expand its services to Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
Digital ID and verification systems are crucial to unlocking significant economic value across Africa’s growing and increasingly digital societies.
From financial participation and efficiency in government services to public health and job creation, digital ID and verification systems are a fundamental driver of economic growth on the continent. A recent report suggested that African countries that implement effective digital ID systems can boost their GDP by up to 13 percent.
Since the company was founded by Chimezie Emewulu and Chibuzor Onwurah, Seamfix has been at the cutting edge of delivering end-to-end digital ID and credentials solutions for connecting businesses and individuals to the disparate identity databases in Africa and across the world.
The company has delivered a wide range of solutions for organizations such as Veremark, Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission [NIMC], telcos (MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9 Mobile), financial institutions (United Bank for Africa, Interswitch and Union Bank) and more, enabling them and their customers globally to seamlessly create, verify and access trusted digital identities and services.
Seamfix’s key achievements include the successful development of a digital solution enabling widespread access to National Identification Numbers (NINs) for more than 100 million Nigerians.
Seamfix also supported Nigerian telecommunications services providers, to register and verify a database of over 200 million Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) to comply with Nigerian Communications Commission regulations.
Seamfix currently works with major telcos across Africa (Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Liberia, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau and more) on their SIM registration, verification and linkage to national identities. Thousands of fintechs and SMEs rely on Seamfix’s verification APIs for KYC checks during customer onboarding and employee background checks.
Seamfix’s digital credential platform has also transformed the credential issuance and certification process for multiple universities across Africa, powering them to issue instantly verifiable credentials and transforming the process of certifying credentials such as student transcripts and other official documents from over 6 months to a matter of days.
This transformation has also been responsible for more than 2,000 per cent growth in internally generated revenue at these universities.
Telecom
MainOne Restates Commitment to Powering West Africa’s Digital Ecosystem, Repairs its Submarine Cable
MainOne, an Equinix Company, has concluded the repair of its submarine cable following an outage which occurred on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
Working closely with regional partners, maintenance providers, vessel owners, and permitting authorities, MainOne completed the necessary repairs to its submarine cable system, thanks to the diligent efforts of all stakeholders and has resumed regular operations with the utmost integrity of its submarine cable.
During this period, MainOne provided restoration capacity and rerouted traffic on its network to minimize the impact on its customers.
Funke Opeke, the Managing Director of MainOne, expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for their support through the incidence, “We are immensely grateful for the support and collaboration of our partners, the patience of our valued customers, and the unwavering commitment of our team during this outage”.
MainOne’s resilience in the face of the recent outage demonstrates the company’s commitment to its customers and the region’s digital transformation.
Federal government has said that it will fully utilise potentials of the satellite technology by harnessing its benefits to advance national development.
Mr Festus Keyamo, minister of Aviation and Aerospace Technology, stated this at the inauguration of the 28th Meeting of the AFI Satellite Network Management Committee (SNMC), recently in Abuja.
According to Keyamo, satellite technology offers myriad of solutions to address complex needs of the nation’s aviation sector from enhancing air traffic management systems to improving weather forecasting capabilities.
“By leveraging these capabilities; we can enhance safety, increase efficiency, and unlock new avenues for growth and prosperity. I stand before you with a deep appreciation for the transformative power of satellite technology.
“In a world that is increasingly interconnected, satellite networks serve as the backbone of modern aviation, enabling safer, more efficient and more sustainable air travel.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has set for itself priority areas for the transformation of the nation. These priority areas are focused on improved livelihood, economic outcomes, harnessing human resources and fairer and safer playing field,” Keyamo said.
He said that aviation has been identified as an enabler of growth, considering its role as a catalyst for economic growth and security of the nation as regards its benefits.
The ministry, he said, launched an ambitious agenda to develop the aviation and aerospace sector in the country.
According to him, the ministry aims to create a safe, efficient, and sustainable aviation system that supports economic growth, job creation and national security.
“Our strategy includes – modernising our airports and air navigation infrastructure; developing a robust aviation safety and security framework, encouraging private sector investment in the sector, building a skilled workforce and promoting research and development.
“In order to achieve our goal, we have recognised the pivotal role satellite technology is to play. The ongoing AIS Automation project, that is to provide AMHS to our ATM system, relies on the VSAT network.
“Nigeria is also upgrading its multiplexers to NETPERFORMER in accordance with Conclusion 27/04 of the 27th SNMC meeting held in Accra in 2019″.
The minister said the effort was part of various projects aimed at improving safety and efficiency of aviation in the country that were highly dependent on satellite technologies.
According to him, the committee’s role is vital in promoting the development and use of satellite technology in the aviation sector to ensure safe and efficient management of satellite networks in the region.
“I urge you all to continue working together to harness the full potential of AFISNET. Let us collaborate by coming up with network concepts and topologies that will assist in achieving relevant ATM operational requirements;
“Also ensuring the continuous operation of AFISNET to meet the AFI and global CNS/ATM plans; addressing the challenges of spectrum management and interference; promoting international cooperation and knowledge sharing.
“Also by deciding on the type and level of service to be provided by the network,” he said.
Keyamo said commitment to harnessing the power of satellite networks was for convenience and a strategic imperative that underpinned collective aspirations for economic growth, social development, and global competitiveness.
He urged members of the committee to forge a cohesive and resilient satellite network ecosystem that would empower the aviation industry to soar to new heights.
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