The managing director of Remita Payment Services Limited, DeRemi Atanda, has said Nigeria’s fintech is one of world’s most thriving and has attracted over $2 billion since 2020.
Highlighting the remarkable progress since the inception of the National Payment System Vision 2025 in 2020, Atanda emphasised key achievements in Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem under NPSV 2025.
These include the significant growth in active bank accounts from 114.8 million in 2020 to 231.1 million by 2024, representing a 101 per cent growth, the 365 per cent growth in real-time payment volumes from 2 billion in 2020 to 9.3 billion by 2023, and the expansion of POS transaction volumes by 110 per cent, from 655 million in 2020 to 1.4 billion by 2023.
Additionally, Atanda highlighted that the Nigerian fintech sector attracted over $2 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and has birthed four fintech unicorns between 2020 and 2025. These achievements, he noted, signify not just progress but the immense potential of a strategically aligned payments ecosystem. He therefore has stressed the importance of encouraging collaboration and legislative reforms to improve Nigeria’s digital economy.
Atanda, stressed this position while speaking at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), in a thought-provoking keynote address that spotlighted the transformative potential of Nigeria’s National Payment System Vision (NPSV).
With deep industry insight, he highlighted the remarkable milestones of the two iterations of the vision (PSV 2020 and PSV 2025) and addressed critical challenges confronting its implementation. His address left an indelible impression, inspiring stakeholders to reimagine the future of payments in Africa.
Atanda called for a renewed focus on collaboration, legislative support, and the standardisation of payment infrastructure to unlock economic opportunities.
He stated Nigeria’s Payment System Vision, as articulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria are very critical adding that, “To facilitate economic activities by providing safe and efficient mechanisms for making and receiving payments with minimum risks to the central bank, payment service providers and end users, extending the availability and usage to all sectors and geographies, banked and unbanked, and conforming to internationally accepted regulatory, technical and operational standards.”
He also noted that “The National Payment System Vision is not just a document; it is a call to action, a shared goal for facilitating economic activities through safe and efficient payment mechanisms. If we cannot domesticate this vision within our businesses, we leave critical gaps.”
However, Atanda emphasised that sustaining and expanding this momentum requires a concerted focus on global standards. “Payments are a critical pillar of the global financial market infrastructure, governed by 24 principles spanning nine dimensions. Without a deep understanding and alignment with these principles, we risk isolation from the global payment ecosystem. Building locally with a global outlook isn’t just a strategy; it’s a necessity for relevance and resilience,” he asserted.
Atanda also urged for greater cooperation within the payment ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of foundational infrastructure. “We are often trapped in competition when we should be cooperating to build the foundational infrastructure. The opportunities at the top are immense, but the real work lies beneath, in building the standards, technology, and systems that enable growth,” he said.
Reflecting on the legislative challenges, Atanda noted the prolonged delay in passing the Payment System Management Bill, which he identified as critical to realizing the full potential of the NPSV. He observed that: “The Payment System Management Bill has been in the National Assembly for over a decade. Without its passage, much of what we aspire to achieve will remain suboptimal. This calls for urgent, collaborative advocacy among stakeholders.”
Speaking on the future of Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, Atanda laid out some goals all stakeholders should explore for the actualization of NPSV 2030, emphasising ambitious financial inclusion targets and transformative policies to enhance cross-border payment systems.
