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Technology Experts Warn, Traditional Banking to End 2025
Technology experts have predicted that by year 2025 to 2030, a market economy could readily emerge without banks, as we have traditionally known them.
Consequently, they urged banks in the region to embrace technology and redefine their operations models to meet the emerging demographic and social change or lose relevance, as more core banking services would be delivered outside the regulated banking industry.
The experts warned that the current shape and makeup of the banking industry in Africa and particularly in Nigeria is inevitably going to change.
The sheer scope and speed of evolution in customer behaviour, technology, changing market dynamics and aggressive non-bank competitors such as telcos and technology companies mean banking in the future cannot simply be a continuation of banking as it has been.
Scores of industry stakeholders including bankers, financial analysts, media, risks analysts and financial technologists who gathered in Lagos at the eNNovators Breakfast Series (EBS) 10, organised by financial technology magazine agreed that for banks to continue to be relevant, management of the banks should invest heavily in technology, rediscover and reassert their roles in society and connect with millennial generation aspirations.
Experts at the interactive knowledge-sharing EBS, which has as its theme 2025: the End of Banking as We Know IT agreed that Central Banks across Africa require a radical orientation. They informed that Central Banks need to change their mindset and approach, as currently banking regulators appear to be focused on tactical responses and their strategic objectives for the future of banks and banking are clouded by political expediency and the ‘too big to fail’ debate.
Emmanuel Agha, CEO of Innovectives, an e-payment company, who presented the lead paper, which is a summary of PricewaterHouseCoopers’ research on “The future shape of banking – time for reformation of banking institutions”, explained that banks are facing rapid and irreversible changes of which the current models are no longer sustainable into the future.
According to him, while the PwC paper did not looking at the end of banking as a grouping of services focused on meeting financial needs, it is imperative to look at the end of banking and banks as we currently know them.
He warned that a failure to adapt could also mean the end of some regulatory bodies and instruments.
Agha explained that the substitution of non-bank providers of banking services is a challenge, which does not reflect in banking regulatory frameworks, or yet – fully at least – in policy and regulatory change agendas.
The Innovectives CEO argued that, “the challenges and dilemmas posed by the parallel changes in technology, customers and revolution are not confined to the incumbent banks or even the non-bank pretenders. Banking policy and regulatory community would face its own challenges and struggle for relevance”.
Quoting from the research, Agha painted a future with three fundamental hypotheses. The first is a future in which core banking service delivered outside of the regulated banking industry. The second is a situation where banks still have advantages but – to be part of the future – they need to invest heavily, rediscover and reassert their core role in society, and secure the ongoing support of policymakers.
The third harped on regulators, regulation and the need to radically change orientation, realignment “from policing to protecting and with public policy shifting its focus – to some extent – from institutions to markets and services”.
Also speaking, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, managing partner, Grand Central, who presented supporting paper noted that bankers today are challenged intellectually and managerially to respond to a socio-economic formation undergoing radical change.
According to him, “A banker is challenged to claim a role in the emerging dispensation or be shunted aside by the more professional group outside the sector. He faces the task of redefining his roles and relationship; his competition and alliances; his goals and mission. His key resources in this new dispensation are information technology”.
He stated that one might state unequivocally that the extent to which “a financial institution commits to, and implement a pervasive deployment of IT tools and strategies will be the primary indices for accessing growth and longevity in the new dispensation”.
He therefore identified several drivers of the new dispensation to include convergence, ubiquity, omniscient, elastic, infinite and speed.
Others are diversity, personalization, free, fragility and openness.
In his reaction, ‘Deremi Atanda, executive director, SystemSpecs Limited, argued that technology will continue to be a major disruptor across all industries, particularly in banking.
Atanda said technology itself now rides on social trends as against technology leading social trends as it was largely before now.
He also warned the regulator that technology innovation especially those that emerge based on social trends can hardly be legislated.
He said there would be a deeper interface and partnership between the banking industry and technology providers. According to him, more banks will exit being “IT Businesses” and leverage multi-layered and multi-partner technology services collaborations. Besides, he predicted that it would become increasingly difficult for banking brands to present themselves strictly as banks because technology firms are already presenting themselves as banks.
He disclosed that major technology innovations will be birthed in the banking environment, which will lead the redefinition of banking, and these will attract global attention and promotion of these local technologies to the global landscape.
“Disaggregation of the banking industry will continue to be accelerated with the emergence of smaller trust units that offer multiple services of which “transformed contemporary banking” will just be one of their services,” he submitted.
Also, Niyi Ajao, executive director, Technology and Operations, Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), said managing a transformation programme of this scale would be a huge challenge for most of the banks in the region.
He however explained that banks do not need to do all of this in-house, since at least some of the innovation and technology work can be achieved through partnerships.
Collins Onuegbu, executive vice chairman, Signal Alliance, said banks have to invest heavily in customer service and operational innovation, at least at the pace and standards set by telcos and technology companies that are gearing up to provide banking services. “The banks must change their mindset. They must stop treating their customers just as numbers,” he warned.
Two Nigerian lawyers have sued promoters of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS) over allegations of electoral fraud and unlawful use of personal data.
The legal actions follow the recent election conducted by the NLS, a breakaway association formed as an alternative to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to elect its national officers.
In one of the suits, marked FHC/ABJ/05/1506/2025 and filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, a lawyer, Timothy Tersugh Ahua, is challenging the conduct of the election and the legitimacy of the electoral process.
Ahua named several NLS promoters, including prominent lawyers, as defendants.
They include Senior Advocates, Chief Mela Audu Nunghe, Dr. Ugoji Eze, Secretary of the NLS Electoral Committee, and Chief Bolaji, Chairman of the NLS.
Others named in the suit are Ferguson Chioma Blessing, Chief Emeka Ichoku, and Tejumola Adigun.
Citing provisions of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, Ahua is asking the court to declare that the NLS electoral process violated its constitution.
He is seeking a declaration that all unopposed candidates, including himself, be declared elected, as published by Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, the alternate Chairman of the NLS Electoral Committee.
Ahua claims he was duly nominated for the position of Secretary General but was unjustly excluded, accusing the defendants of hand-picking candidates in breach of the rules.
He further alleged that the exclusion caused him financial loss, reputational damage, and personal hardship, urging the court to correct what he described as a grave injustice.
In a separate suit before the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, another lawyer, Oluwadare Thomas, sued Chief Mela Nunghe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Ugoji Eze, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), over alleged violation of his data privacy rights.
Thomas is asking the court to determine whether the use and publication of his personal data by NLS election officials without his consent amounts to a breach of Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
He also wants the court to consider whether the use of the NLS name for the election, despite a CAC notice and a pending suit, constitutes contempt of court and abuse of legal process.
He is seeking several declaratory and injunctive reliefs, including a court order restraining the continued use of his personal data and an order compelling NITDA and NDPC to investigate and sanction the respondents.
Thomas is also demanding N50m in compensation for the alleged unlawful processing and exposure of his personal information.
The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has congratulated Chief Owolabi Salis on his successful space flight. He becomes the first person of Nigerian birth to travel to space.
Chief Salis privately funded his space mission, demonstrating the deep interest of Nigerians to participate in scientific, exploratory, tourism and commercial space activities. His achievement highlights new opportunities for private sector engagement in space Program.
This milestone brings significant international attention to Nigeria’s space program, capabilities, while positioning the nation among countries where citizens actively participate in space activities.
In a statement signed by Dr. Felix Ale, director, Media and Corporate Communications, NASRDA, stated that chief Salis’s successful mission represents one pathway for Nigerian space participation. “His achievement complements NASRDA’s ongoing efforts to expand access to space exploration for Nigerian citizens.
“NASRDA received notification of Chief Salis’s mission through our partner organization, Space Research and Exploration Agency (SERA), prior to the flight. His success demonstrates the expanding opportunities now available to Nigerians in the space sector.
“However, it must be emphasized that the NASRDA-SERA collaborative mission, announced in June 2024, remains on course for an upcoming Blue Origin flight. This program represents a different pathway, providing opportunities for broader Nigerian participation through open competition.
“Our collaborative mission will enable Nigerian citizens to participate in astronaut selection and contribute to the development of research proposals. Eligibility extends to all Nigerian citizens aged 18 and above through transparent, merit-based selection criteria.
“Research priorities for the NASRDA-SERA mission will also be determined through public input from Nigerian citizens. This approach ensures the mission addresses national priorities identified by Nigerian citizens,” the statement added.
The application portal for the NASRDA-SERA program will open in the coming weeks. Detailed application procedures will be announced prior to the portal’s activation.
NASRDA celebrates Chief Salis’s contribution to raising awareness about space exploration opportunities for Nigerians. His private investment demonstrates the practical commitment of Nigerian citizens to advancing our national space participation.
Chief Salis’s achievement marks a defining moment for Nigeria’s space ambitions. Nigeria now has both private citizens and government programs actively pursuing space exploration, positioning the nation as an active participant in the global space economy.
For additional information regarding NASRDA programs or the SERA collaborative mission, contact the agency’s Media and Corporate Communication Department.
The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.
The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.
In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.
“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.
“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”
Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.
“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.
17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.
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