Enhancing future of Africa's payment system

Africa's digital payment ecosystem has seen significant growth in recent years, with a focus on enhancing, growing, and scaling across the continent. Professor Alayinka David-West, associate dean in formation systems at the Lagos Business School, believes that Africa needs to sustain its growth in the digital payment ecosystem to reflect this progress. In a recent interview on CNBC Africa, Professor David-West emphasized the importance of leveraging lessons from other countries to drive innovation, collaboration, and inclusivity in Africa's payment systems. One of the key highlights of the conversation was the role of mobile payments as a catalyst for financial inclusion. Professor David-West pointed to M-Pesa in Kenya as a prime example of how mobile payment systems have revolutionized the financial landscape in Africa. By starting later than other countries, Africa has the advantage of learning from past mistakes and adopting best practices to propel its digital payment journey forward. The future of payments in Africa lies in making every transaction digital, instant, and inclusive. Professor David-West underscored the need for collaboration, infrastructure development, device accessibility, and affordability to ensure seamless digital payments. Addressing issues such as security, fraud, and consumer protection are also critical to building trust and confidence in the payment ecosystem. Furthermore, the conversation touched on the importance of dispute resolution and infrastructure scalability. Awareness and education play a crucial role in minimizing transaction failures and resolving conflicts between financial service providers and consumers. Ensuring instant settlements for financial institutions behind the scenes is another area of focus to streamline the payment process and drive efficiency. Despite the challenges, Professor David-West remains optimistic about the potential for solutions in the Nigerian market. By fostering innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving tailored to the unique nuances of each country, Africa can drive sustainable growth and trade across borders in the payment ecosystem. The key lies in collective action and a shared commitment to overcome obstacles and drive progress in Africa's evolving payment landscape.