Jeffrey Wu explains how Nigeria can boost blockchain for cashless growth

As the rise of Blockchain accelerates digital payments in Nigeria with the introduction of Central bank digital currencies, regulation is a key infrastructure tool in Nigeria for seamless adoption.

This was disclosed by Sam Lee, founder of Blockchain Center, and Jeffrey Wu, CEO of Actionable Strategies on Monday, during the 2nd Edition of the Africa Cashless Payment Conference.

They noted that the focus needs to be on driving adoption, which has to be driven in all areas for all types of merchandise.

Sam Lee stated that the digitization of money is inevitable and more efficient and that Blockchain builds trust and transparency with regulatory challenges to follow to prevent clashes.

• He said, “In six years ( 2014-2020) growth of digital payment in China helped China move into mobile infrastructure ( Alipay, WeChatPay) and a key pillar lifting people out of poverty and connecting them to global opportunities.”

He added that big data uses AI to improve insights gotten from digital purchases, citing that,

• “Blockchain enables payments Infrastructure for trust, transparency, and efficiency. This can be done through better regulation, as the focus needs to be on driving adoption, which has to be driven in all areas for all types of merchandise.
• “Blockchain accelerates digital payment and needs regulation as a key infrastructure tool such as the Nigerian E- naira.”

Jeffrey Wu stated that digital currencies are enablers that make the technology needed for it viable.

“Digital application can enable Africa from the most unbanked to rapid economic growth for a huge number of people. Achieving critical mass adoption is just as important as the technology itself. Platform development must be designed to current systems but need better long-term adoption for technology uses.

He said investment flows freely to opportunities that are viable and provide realistic returns identified and managed, citing that focusing on population won’t get investments, as the focus needs to be on driving adoption, which has to be driven in all areas for all types of merchant

• “Government entities must also reduce friction adoption and boost adoption that will help private stakeholders towards a cashless society adoption,” he said.

For the record: Recall research noted that the era of cash-based transactions is gradually becoming a thing of the past, as more cashless forms of payment continue to be developed and adopted in the Nigerian financial industry.

• This comes as the use of various cashless forms of payment, such as point-of-sale (POS) terminals, instant bank transfers, mobile transfers, and others has already recorded significant growth in the country. One such innovation is tokenization.
• Some of the companies at the forefront of these innovations are Interswitch and Mastercard. Recently, Interswitch collaborated with Providus Bank, Mastercard, and Thales to launch a contactless Tap-to-Pay transaction via smart devices.
• The service allows cardholders to make fast, secure, and convenient in-store payments by tapping their NFC-enabled smart device at any contactless-enabled payment terminal.

Nairametrics