‘Fintech will decide fate of banking services’

Executive Director, Systemspecs, Deremi Atanda

As technology continues to dominate and permeate every segment of human endeavour, activity and field of knowledge, there is strong indication that Financial Technology (Fintech), a new trending innovative technology, will to a very large extent, redefine and determine the survival of global banking service delivery in Nigeria, and across the world.

A Fintech expert and Executive Director, Systemspecs Limited, AdeRemi Atanda, gave the insight at the Centre for Financial Journalism (CFJ), and Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) Business Forum, held in Lagos, recently.
Fintech aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. It uses technology to improve activities in finance using smartphones, investing services, cryptocurrency and other technologies to make financial services more accessible to the general public.
Atanda, the Guest Speaker at the CFJ-ACAMB Business Forum, observed that Fintech has come to not only revolutionise the global economic setting, especially, the banking and financial services system, but also to ultimately change the way and manner services are delivered to the consumers through its innovative and disruptive characteristics and capabilities.

According to him, the world is at the 4th economic revolution, which is driven by the digital age. “It is a knowledge edge. So if anybody is still competing based on natural resources you are a goner,” he added.
He explained that in the digital age financial services would be delivered directly to the consumers using disruptive and innovative technologies that would enable banks and other financial services providers to provide value-adding services to meet their numerous customers’ increasing needs.
Atanda further explained that Fintech is about those technologies that enable financial services to be taken right to the customers the way they want it. But many times financial services providers are not capable or do not assume it their responsibility to create the rail or the platform that makes it easy for them to deliver their own services and that is where the conflict is.

For banks to remain competitive and profitable, he said there is the need for them to partner with Fintech companies with a view to increasing the efficiency of incumbent businesses, adding that incumbents could simplify and rationalise their core processes, services and products, and consequently reduce inefficiencies in their operations.
“This is already true in the payments industry where Fintech generates additional revenues through faster and easier payments and digital wallet transactions,” he said.
The 2018 CFJ-ACAMB Business Forum was the third edition in the series, aimed at keeping both the corporate communication practitioners in banks and other financial services institutions and financial journalists abreast with critical issues in the financial sector, policies and developments in the economy and global trends.
The event was moderated by Mr. Femi Awoyemi, Managing Director/CEO, Proshare Nigeria, and chaired by Mr. Ray Echebiri, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Financial Journalism while Mr. Charles Aigbe, President, ACAMB was the Chief Host. It was well attended by corporate communication practitioners in banks, financial journalists, financial analysists and researchers.