Interswitch deepens commitment to fostering financial innovation
By Esther Agbo
Interswitch Group, a leading player in Africa’s digital payments landscape, has secured a prominent position as the Gold Sponsor for the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) 2024, set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 4-6, 2024.
This partnership underscores Interswitch’s deepening commitment to fostering financial innovation and expanding its footprint across the continent.
As Interswitch marks over two decades of pioneering digital payment solutions in Africa, the timing of this partnership is significant.
The company’s recent milestones, including its strategic collaboration with ACI Worldwide to modernise real-time payments across 32 Sub-Saharan African markets, and its expansion into new sectors like healthcare, energy, and transportation, highlight its evolving role in shaping the future of digital commerce in Africa.
Since its establishment in 2002 in Nigeria, Interswitch has consistently pushed the boundaries of financial technology. The company disrupted Nigeria’s traditional cash-based economy by introducing electronic payment processing and switching services. It also launched Verve, Africa’s leading domestic EMV-standard chip-and-pin card scheme, which has since captured over 50 percent of the Nigerian card market.
Additionally, a recent change in consumer behaviour and macroeconomic conditions has led more Nigerian banks and fintech startups to issue Verve cards to customers as a locally relevant and reliable alternative.
For instance, OPay, one of Nigeria’s largest digital banks has issued 13 million Verve cards, while Moniepoint has issued about 4 million, further solidifying Verve’s position as a leading card and payment chip provider.
Interswitch’s influence extends beyond payments, as its Verve card has become a staple in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. Notably, digital banks like OPay and Moniepoint have issued millions of Verve cards, solidifying its dominance in the market. This growth reflects broader shifts in consumer behaviour and the increasing demand for locally relevant financial solutions.
The Interswitch’s Founder and Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe, emphasised the alignment between Interswitch’s vision and the theme of this year’s AFTS, “Fintech in Every Industry.”
He expressed excitement about the opportunity to contribute to ecosystem engagement and thought leadership at the summit, underscoring Interswitch’s mission to leverage technology for social impact across various sectors.
He said, “As an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce leader, and an important gateway to Africa’s Fintech Ecosystem, we are extremely delighted to support ecosystem engagement and valuable thought-leadership through the platform of the Africa Fintech Summit.”
“Twenty-two years ago, we set out, with a clear vision to solve social problems, starting by digitising the use of cash. Today, on the realisation of the tremendous transformative potential of technology to create value and unlock prosperity for Africa, we’ve set our sights on leveraging technology and innovation to digitise transactions and unlock value in other key social service sectors, just as we continue to do in the sphere of financial services, and we are excited to see that our roadmap and perspective aptly align with the theme of this year’s AFTS, which is ‘Fintech In Every Industry’.”
The Africa Fintech Summit, now in its sixth year, has become the continent’s premier gathering for financial technology leaders. The 2024 edition promises to be particularly impactful, with Interswitch’s sponsorship and participation expected to bring valuable insights and expertise to the table.
