Elegbe, Interswitch Boss Seeks Policies to Sustain e-Payment Growth

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, more Nigerians have embraced electronic payments as a means of avoiding physical contact around cash handling.

Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch’s founder

For this momentum to be sustained after the pandemic, good policies that drive value for customers must be implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial banks and fintech companies.

This was the view of Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch’s founder and group chief executive officer, while speaking at the 14th Annual Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) with the theme: “Business Unusual: Digital acceleration for growth in a new world”. The two-day e-conference, which held recently.

Acknowledging the increase in the adoption of digital payment over the past months, Elegbe explained the need for the payment industry and regulators to build on the momentum gained via electronic payment.

Elegbe said the fear of contracting the coronavirus was the primary reason consumers are adopting electronic payment.

A statement quoted him to have reiterated the need for stakeholders within the sector to address the fundamental issues that affect the consumers, instead of relying on the ‘fear factor’ to sustain the adoption of electronic payment among Nigerians.

He said: “COVID-19 may have necessitated consumers to adopt electronic payments for the first time but as the impact of the virus wears off eventually, it is important for the benefits derived during this period to be sustained. The industry stakeholders, including service providers such as Interswitch Group, banks and regulators, must put a lot more effort in establishing the right policy framework that will drive increasing adoption of electronic payment. Relying on just the fear of COVID-19, will leave us at the losing end.”

Elegbe also spoke on the impact of the virus on businesses. He urged companies that have been adversely affected by the impact of coronavirus to form strategic alliances with other companies in order to continue in business.