The increased ease with which financial transactions can be performed helps in ensuring that people are happier to spend more money. This assures businesses of survival in the tough global economic climate. From online shopping to paying bills and transferring money, financial services have been forced to evolve as quickly as society’s needs. The demand for instant gratification is growing, we hear the experts proclaim loudly. This has greatly influenced people’s need to be able to perform more and more complex transactions at the click of a button or two.
It is said that the idea of Fintech and the handling of our finances online could be traced back to the end of the 20th century when the U.S. Reserve Bank introduced the “Fedwire” service. This service employed the Telegraph for transmission of transactions. Credit cards and ATM machines took over in the 60’s and with the advent of the internet, Fintech has become an industry unrivaled in its capacity to touch people’s lives irrespective of where they are located. It can be said without an iota of doubt that revolutionary creations such as mobile payments have come to stay.
In Nigeria, the Fintech industry is also growing at a tremendous rate. It has become imperative that Financial Institutions invest in Fintech to avoid becoming obsolete. As internet penetration is increasing, so is the use of online financial transactions. A geometric expansion in the client base for Fintech is therefore imminent. It is predicted that in line with global trends, insurance companies will also soon begin to cooperate with Fintech Companies to keep up with business trends.
One of the worries which are expressed in the Nigerian market relates to the security of online financial transactions. It is even more worrisome with the cases of fraud which have been brought to the limelight most recently and seem to put a large percentage of infractions at the doorstep of Nigerians.
It is hoped that with the recent events in Fintech in Nigeria which have security as their focus, minds will be put to rest regarding efforts to secure online transactions, and more people will conduct their businesses online. As growth happens in this regard, the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) will also continue to position herself to support innovation and security as the trusted platform for businesses to get the visibility that they deserve.