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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.
IHS Nigeria and its implementing partner, the United Nations Child Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed satisfaction that the Oxygen Plant recently donated to Rivers State is helping to bridge the health Gap in the state and its environs.
This observation was made recently when officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, carried out a project inspection visit to the plant located at the General Hospital in Eleme, Rivers State.
During the handing over of the oxygen plant to the Rivers State Government in 2024, the facility was reported to have a production capacity of 123 oxygen cylinders and 720,000 litres of oxygen every 24 hours.
The plant was built under a Public-Private Partnership involving UNICEF, the Canadian Government, IHS Nigeria, in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health through the State Hospital Management Board.
Speaking during the visit to the facility yesterday, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, noted that the oxygen plant has saved lives and is helping to bridge health gaps in the eight other states where similar plants are located.
She further explained that the visit reflects the organisation’s commitment “not only to create opportunities for impact but to also continue supporting the healthcare industry by carrying out such interventions that directly impact individuals and saves lives. This plant is one of the nine oxygen plants we have built across the federation,” she said.
“We are particularly excited that it is helping to bridge health gaps—not just in Rivers State and its environs, but in all the states where the plants are currently located.”
Oguntuga informed that in terms of sustainability “we focus our intervention sustainability on four pillars; ethics and governance, education and economic growth, environment and climate change and finally, people and communities”.
She added that “the visit to the Rivers State oxygen plant is to have an assessment of how well the plant is functioning, the impact it is currently making and to generally understand how the operation is going”.
On his part, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Port Harcourt, Dr Anslem Audu, stated that the plant has been very functional and useful to the people of Rivers State. According to him, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of patients needed oxygen and oxygen was not available. So many children will come down with pneumonia and it will become an emergency, they will need oxygen, but oxygen is not available in the hospital. But with this plant now available no child will die because of lack of oxygen in the hospital. The era of lack of oxygen is no longer there.
Audu added that “You can practically visit any of the hospitals in Port Harcourt and find out that they have oxygen and the product is from this plant all thanks to IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government and UNICEF”.
The UNICEF field officer, who confirmed that the plant is functioning optimally, said it is producing enough oxygen for the state’s needs.
In his words, “The partnership between these three organizations and the Ministry of Health in Rivers State has really worked, and we are reaping the benefits of the partnership.
He urged the implementing partners, especially the government, to also invest in the sustainability of the facility by providing a source of electricity for the plant to be more functional.
Earlier, the Medical Director Eleme General Hospital, Dr Leechi-Okere Clarabelle, noted that since the day of the unveiling, the plant has been functioning very well. Commenting on impact he noted that “We’ve had success stories whereby oxygen is distributed to public hospitals in the state, including the two teaching hospitals in the state and then we have also extended distribution to some private hospitals within the state.
“We have two hubs that serve as storage and distribution points because of the location of the plant. We produce here and store somewhere in Port Harcourt so that people who come from a far distance can get oxygen from these hubs.
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate of manipulating his identity and engaging in online blackmail.
Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, JAMB, issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.
He said one Chinedu Okeke, currently a 400-level Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), gained admission in 2021 while claiming to be from Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos state.
JAMB said Okeke’s national identification number (NIN) records from 2021 confirm his Lagos origin.
The board stated it does not alter candidate information provided through NIN.
The board, however, said the 400-level student, who is facing potential challenges for incorrect credentials, is now claiming that it retrieved the wrong details for him from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2021.
“[This] is unequivocally false, aimed at fabricating a defence for his case,” Benjamin said.
“The evidence suggests that Chinedu altered his records as filled in 2021 before registering for the 2025 UTME, a fact confirmed by even his advocates.”
The board questioned why a 400-level medical student would seek to study mechanical engineering in 2025, especially with “inconsistencies in his claims.”
JAMB alleged that Okeke “took advantage” of Lagos state’s quota in 2021, thereby obstructing the admission opportunities for other deserving candidates from the state.
It added that he then “attempted to manipulate his details with the NIMC” to unjustly claim representation from Anambra state in 2025.
The board criticised “online advocates” for “actively reaching out to Chinedu’s parents to extract emotional narratives rather than factual clarifications, neglecting to seek information directly from the university.”
JAMB affirmed its commitment to maintaining accurate records and preventing candidates from exploiting loopholes.
It warned that if UNN confirms any inconsistencies, it would notify the Medical and Dental Council to consider delisting Okeke.
“When a nation trivialises illegalities, it breeds a future fraught with potential criminality,” Benjamin’s statement concluded.
Africa has become the most targeted region globally for cyber-attacks in the first quarter of 2025, according to new research from Check Point Software Technologies. The company’s Q1 2025 Global Cyber Attack Report reveals a steep rise in malicious activity as the continent continues to accelerate its Digital transformation.
Ethiopia emerged as the most targeted country in Africa during the reporting period. FakeUpdates ranked as the most common malware, while 80% of malicious files across the continent were delivered via e-mail. In contrast, 62% of threats in SA were distributed via the web.
On average, organisations in Africa faced 3 325 cyber-attacks per week – a staggering 72% above the global average of 1 938 attacks per organisation.
Check Point Software unpacked the findings at a media roundtable in Johannesburg. Eli Smadja, global research group manager at Check Point, provided a detailed overview of Africa’s evolving cyber threat landscape, which he said is increasingly defined by AI-powered threats, ransomware, infostealers, edge device vulnerabilities and cloud-based risks.
Among the most concerning developments was the discovery of a previously undocumented multi-stage backdoor, dubbed Stealth Soldier, currently being deployed in cyber operations targeting North African government entities. The malware forms part of a broader command-and-control infrastructure used in spear-phishing campaigns.
Smadja noted a growing trend in malware designed to bypass AI detection systems.
“These aren’t aimed at advanced large language models (LLMs), but rather at lower-level ones,” he said. “It’s about LLM evasion – fooling the AI and manipulating prompts.”
Despite the increasing use of AI in cyber security, Smadja cautioned against over-reliance on AI-driven defence systems. “AI still requires human prompting.”
Check Point is advocating for a zero trust model and a holistic, automated and consolidated approach to cyber security. This includes centralised threat visibility and simplified controls to protect against ransomware, phishing, data theft and vulnerabilities at the edge.
“Just having something at the perimeter isn’t enough,” Smadja said. “Cyber-attacks are not just targeting PCs or servers anymore. For instance, we’ve seen state-sponsored attacks aimed at fuel pumps to disrupt national supply chains.”
He highlighted the importance of understanding external risk – threats originating outside the organisation – especially as AI-driven ransomware and attacks on third-party service providers continue to rise.
“Printers, for example, are a major attack vector,” he added. “They’re often network-connected, and threat actors can exploit them to gain broader access.”
Credentials, Smadja noted, are also a lucrative commodity on the dark web, often selling for around $500.
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