Apochi: Payments Service Providers Should Embrace Technologies That Serve Youth Demography

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Group Managing Director/CEO of Unified Payment Services Limited, Dr. Agada Apochi, has urged industry players in the payment ecosystem to embrace different options or technologies that would serve the interests of young people.

Delivering a keynote presentation at the annual conference of the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) themed, “Payment System Vision 2030: Navigating Contemporary Issues in Driving Future Growth,” Dr. Apochi said it has become imperative for players to continue to innovate by creating products that align with the interests of digital natives. He added that delivering payment in its current state would not attract young people either now or in the distant future. 

“We need to offer solutions that speak to the lifestyle and needs of the people that we serve. We need market players to understand the demography or community better, as this would be key to defining the future of payments in Nigeria. To serve the digital natives, we must connect with them where they are. Due to the digital habits that they have cultivated, it follows that we should create solutions that are delivered digitally,” he said.

While acknowledging that using cards will remain a permanent feature in Nigeria’s payment landscape, he charged players to develop solutions that see payments beyond plastic cards.

He disclosed that Unified Payments was already taking the lead in that direction by devising solutions that ensured that the equivalent of the card or POS was the telephone number and the telephone handset as an alternative to POS devices. It is also for the same reason that the name of the company was changed in 2012 from ValuCard to Unified Payments because the company envisioned a payments future that is beyond cards or plastics. 

He said that with most Nigerians now having means of digital identification through the BVN and NIN, it is easier for payments solutions to be delivered digitally