Interswitch Calls for Stronger Collaboration to Sustain Africa’s Fintech Growth

 Interswitch Calls for Stronger Collaboration to Sustain Africa’s Fintech Growth

LAGOS, Nigeria — August 24, 2026: Interswitch Group has called for stronger collaboration among fintech companies, commercial banks, infrastructure providers and regulators to build a secure, resilient and sustainable financial ecosystem capable of supporting Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

The company made the call at The Borderless Experience 2026, organised by Condia and held in Lagos on Friday, August 21, where Akeem Lawal, Managing Director, Payment Processing & Switching, Interswitch Purepay, participated in a fireside conversation on the future of African fintech.

Speaking alongside Kemi Okusanya, CEO of Zest, in a session moderated by Benjamin Dada, Founder and Publisher of Condia, Lawal stressed that fintech companies cannot be expected to independently address all the challenges associated with financial innovation.

“I don’t think the fintechs can solve it alone,” Lawal said, highlighting the need for commercial banks and infrastructure providers to develop compliant, transparent and reliable layers that allow fintech companies to concentrate on innovation.

According to him, the continued transformation of Africa’s financial landscape depends not only on innovative products and services but also on the underlying infrastructure required to support their adoption at scale.

For Interswitch, the position reflects a broader view that Africa’s digital financial transformation must be built on infrastructure capable of delivering security, compliance, reliability and resilience.

As fintech companies continue to reshape how individuals and businesses access and move money, Lawal noted that established financial institutions, infrastructure providers and regulators would remain critical to creating an environment where innovation can thrive sustainably.

He also identified trust as a major challenge that must be addressed as the continent advances in cross-border and contactless payments.

Lawal observed that some customers remain concerned about the security of contactless transactions because they can complete payments by simply tapping a card without entering a PIN, despite the security measures embedded in the technology.

He argued that improving public understanding and confidence in digital payment systems would be essential to accelerating adoption and unlocking the full potential of contactless and cross-border payments across Africa.

The Interswitch executive's participation at The Borderless Experience 2026 further reflects the company's continued focus on thought leadership around payments, digital finance and the infrastructure required to support Africa's financial transformation.

Lawal concluded that the next phase of fintech growth must go beyond the development of groundbreaking products to include the infrastructure needed to make such innovation sustainable.

“The future of fintech is not simply about building revolutionary products. It is about building the infrastructure that allows that revolution to endure,” he said.