Customer Trust is critical for Successful Payment Ecosystem – Flutterwave

Banks and Fintech companies are in the business of trust building as they build financial solutions that enable payments, hence they must create an ecosystem that protects consumers and enables businesses to thrive, Emmanuel Efenure, Flutterwave’s Head of Risk, Africa, has said.

To this end, all stakeholders including regulators need to work together towards strengthening consumers’ trust, stated the expert at a panel session during the annual conference of the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH).

The conference with the theme “Leveraging Ecosystem Synergy to Combat Fraud,” featured a panel discussion focused on “The Fintech Ecosystem–Perspective on Fraud.” The keynote speaker for the session was Peter Obadare, Co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Digital Encode.

Other panelists at the panel session were Niyi Toluwalope, CEO of eTranzact, represented by the Head of Risk and Information Management, Edward Onyenweaku; and Griffith Ehebha, Executive Vice President, Risk and Information Security at Interswitch Group.

Formed in 2008, CeBIH seeks to promote electronic banking services in line with global practices by serving as a forum for Heads of e-Business/e-Payments in Nigerian deposit-money banks to share ideas and experiences.

This year’s event, which had Flutterwave as a premium sponsor shows the company’s renewed commitment to create a safe and secure digital payments ecosystem for all Nigerians.

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The moderator Ajibade Laolu-Adewale, secretary of Emerging Payments and Technologies at CeBIH, opened the panel discussion by emphasizing the importance of stakeholder management as a vital tool in combating and curtailing fraud in all its forms.

Emmanuel noted that the keynote addresses and remarks delivered prior to the panel session reemphasized that no one or company is immune to fraud.

“Fraud is real, and the industry must understand that. The reality is that irrespective of whether you are a bank or a fintech, you are not immune. The 238% increase in cyberattacks in the global financial sector in 2020, is a vivid reminder,” he said.

He also stated that N3.5 billion was lost to fraud-related incidents by financial institutions in Nigeria between July and September 2020, according to data from NIBSS.

Commenting, Griffith Ehebha said, “The innovative efforts to make payments faster, easier, and more accessible to everyone has led to the emergence of Fintech. It is a very vital experiment making a significant difference in how we pay and get paid. However, there are major risks involved; fraudsters always look for loopholes to defraud people globally”.

Building on Griffith’s comments, Edward Onyenweaku opined that the onus, therefore, lies on all financial institutions and regulators to sensitize the people on the dos and don’ts of electronic payments and continually innovate to make the ecosystem more fraud-proof.

The panelists agreed that since the regulators are working adequately to combat fraud, it is imperative for every member of the ecosystem, including consumers, to play their part to eradicate fraud.

Peter Obadare said that “Banks (and fintech companies) must look critically at and revamp their fraud management system with a focus on four core areas–Architecture, Design, Implementation, and Operation. They must also break down their tendencies to favor an individualistic approach to combating fraud.”

Obadare said that working in silos does not favor the ecosystem’s battle against cybercriminals who work more like a syndicate.