In Kenya, an estimated 3.2 million people — 6% of the population — have been blacklisted on Kenya’s TransUnion credit reference bureau for non-repayment of digital credit loans. Being placed on a blacklist like this means that you won’t take loans from any other lender. It would also mean that…

Consumer lending is basically loans to individuals, like me and you, to purchase goods and services. Of the forms of consumer lending, credit cards are perhaps the most popular. Yet, if you’re a Nigerian reading this, that last sentence is not very relatable, mostly because not only is consumer lending…

This week, two Nigerian banks began blocking the accounts of individuals trading crypto and the accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges. It followed regulation from the Central Bank of Nigeria banning the activity of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. It sent crypto exchanges like BuyCoins, Luno, Quidax, etc., which have become immensely…

Now for the fourth year, here are my predictions for digital payments in 2021 with the hope that it offers a better time for everyone than 2020. You probably have heard it a thousand times; 2020 was a shitty year for almost everyone except for technology and especially payments. Those worst hit by 2020, apart from the folks who lost their lives (may their soul rest in peace even if I don’t believe in the afterlife), are pundits like me whose predictions were thoroughly trashed.

I was recently working with a traditional financial service provider to launch a product online. And they insisted on applicants providing utility bills. Then the trouble started! Even though argued strenuously against this, but they also brought valid arguments. …

Hardly a day goes by without someone screaming on Twitter about their bank taking their money even while doing little or no transactions. Trust me, Nigerian banks are optimized for money making but hey, who said you can’t beat them at their games? Here are simple steps you can take…

Introduction Improving access to credit has been high on the agenda of several international organizations and policymakers for many years. This is mostly because a large part of the world lives in poverty, with individuals and businesses lacking access to credit [1]. Nigeria has a high poverty rate, with about…

In December 2010, Helios Investment Partners led an acquisition of a majority interest in what is now Africa’s first fintech unicorn — Interswitch. A decade later, Visa’s $200M funding confirms the hope of every investor in the first 10–12 years of their investment, an exit — Initial Price Offering (IPO)…

2019 was an interesting year for payments globally, and our dear Nigeria wasn’t left out of the parte. But 2020 would be even much more exciting as many of the payments food that got on the fire last year would be served piping hot at the start of the new…