SystemSpecs has prasied Nigerian fintechs for their efforts as financial transaction intermediaries employing cutting-edge technologies and consumer-oriented solutions.
Demola Igbalajobi, an Executive Director of SystemSpecs, stated the following remark during a recent Institute of Chattered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Information technology (IT) and consultancy webinar on Fintechs and Changes in Financial Intermediation.
A financial intermediary is a third party who acts as a go-between for two parties in a financial transaction.
They are designed to function as a link in complex financial transactions and charge a fee in exchange for taking on the risk.
Igbalajobi, who was represented by Mujib Ishola, SystemSpecs’ Head of Payments Technology and Infrastructure, noted that fintechs have emerged as a viable alternative to banks and other licensed money handlers in the financial intermediation process.
“Fintechs are gaining traction as a result of a variety of factors, including their agility and speed to market, lower risk aversion, a focus on service rather than regulation, and present inefficiencies in traditional bank operations,” he said.
He went on to say that the rapid growth of digital technology innovation has resulted in the rise of fintech platforms, which facilitate solutions in a variety of fields such as mobile money, insurtech, agrictech, cryptocurrency transactions, and many more.
“Fintech companies can be direct service providers to clients. He explained that they can “offer platforms as a service,” “create platforms for other financial companies,” or “act as a support platform for ancillary services such as data reference, data verification, and collection.”
Unlike traditional banks, which provide a variety of financial services from a single platform, fintechs are focusing on certain areas of customer demands, such as payment, lending, or verification.
