Chika Nwosu, managing director, PalmPay, delivered a compelling address on the transformative role of embedded finance in Africa, at the third edition of Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 3.0), held in Lagos, recently.
Speaking on the theme “Embedded Finance in Africa: Powering Payments Where People Live, Work, and Trade”, Nwosu emphasized that the story of finance on the continent is not merely about innovation but about solving everyday problems.
He recalled that as recently as 2017, only 43 per cent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to formal financial services, with Nigeria facing even deeper exclusion.
Even for those included, challenges such as network downtime and failed transactions plagued the system.
“The average Nigerian wants to synergise life, work, and business without friction. That is where embedded finance comes in,” Nwosu said, stressing that the solution lies in integrating financial services directly into platforms people already use and trust.
Highlighting the role of smartphones as gateways into the financial ecosystem, he noted that Nigeria’s large base of smartphone users presents a unique opportunity to expand access.
With small businesses and informal trade driving the economy, contributing over 80 per cent of employment and more than half of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nwosu argued that financial services must meet people where they are: in markets, on ride-hailing platforms, at POS terminals, and in online shops.
PalmPay, he explained, has focused on building infrastructure that guarantees reliability at scale, achieving a 99.95 per cent transaction success rate.
“Trust is everything,” he said, adding that the company’s fraud prevention systems and human oversight have been critical to sustaining user confidence.
Beyond infrastructure, PalmPay has expanded through a network of over 500,000 agents, bringing services to the last mile, while leveraging data and AI to personalize experiences and strengthen security.
Nwosu underscored that embedded finance is already reshaping Nigeria’s digital economy by improving cash flow for small businesses, creating jobs, and moving beyond financial inclusion to meaningful usage, cautioning however, that more work remains to be done.
He outlined three priorities for unlocking the full potential of embedded finance: reliability at scale, deep ecosystem integration, and accessibility.
Success, he said, will be achieved “when a trader in a remote market can transact with the same speed and confidence as a corporate executive in Lagos.”
Nwosu affirmed PalmPay’s commitment to building this future, where payments become so seamless that users no longer have to think about them at all.
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