There was a time when having money in Nigeria felt safe; you knew your bank manager and if something went wrong, there was someone to call, or even visit.
Now, imagine standing helpless, phone in hand, watching N250,000 trapped in a “processing” notification. No banker or support line, just a chatbot telling you to “check back later.” That’s not an unusual experience anymore, it’s the new normal.
In the rush to modernise, Nigeria’s financial system has quietly removed one important feature, which is human trust. And most people didn’t notice it happening.
There’s a broken reality behind fintech apps and profitability reports as banks and startups automate their systems to reduce costs and drive speed. Nigerians are left to wonder who to trust when machines control their money.
How We Got Here: Nigeria’s Push into Automated Finance
Cashless Nigeria didn’t happen by accident; it was policy-driven. Regulators encouraged digital adoption, banks launched fintech subsidiaries like GTCO’s Squad and Access Bank’s Hydrogen, telcos joined in with wallets and payment platforms, payment gateways, switching infrastructures, APIs—everything was digitised to serve one purpose, which is ‘move money faster’.
Yes, it worked. Digital payments exploded, billions now flow through apps and backend systems every day; Squad processed ₦27.4 trillion in 2024, Hydrogen handled nearly double that. Banks reduced costs, businesses scaled without hiring more staff, and customers were promised convenience.
But buried beneath these numbers, something more human was lost.
The Trade-off: When Efficiency Replaces Empathy
The problem isn’t just that banking went digital; it’s that it became impersonal.
Try resolving a failed transaction today; you’ll meet chatbots, automated emails, and self-service portals; usually while your funds remain stuck.
Fintechs, in their quest for efficiency, have replaced human service teams with algorithms. Fraud detection is now automated, account freezes happen without warning, customer complaints disappear into systems optimised for “reduced human contact.”
For small traders in Lagos or shop owners in Kano, this could be inconveniencing, not progress.
What was once like a relationship with a bank has become a cold transaction with a machine.
Why Trust Still Matters in Nigeria’s Economy
In Nigeria, trust has always been more valuable than receipts. You paid because you trusted the person receiving your money. You kept your savings in a bank because you trusted the people working there, not the building or the app.
But digital systems don’t understand trust; they execute code, process transactions and when something breaks, there’s no human to appeal to. The very thing Nigerians valued in financial transactions—personal connection—has been stripped away.
The result is growing mistrust, digital fatigue, and even a quiet return to cash transactions in some sectors.
For businesses, the damage is invisible but real. Customers who feel betrayed by digital systems hesitate before transacting again. Small businesses lose sales, people hoard cash because it feels safer than trusting a machine that doesn’t speak back.
Who Profits from the Breakdown?
Ironically, as customers lose trust, fintechs grow richer. GTCO Squad posted ₦1.66 billion in Q1 2025 alone. Hydrogen’s profits jumped over 1,000% last year. These companies optimise back-end processes, automate dispute handling, and scale digital infrastructures, all while reducing human support staff.
This is by design, not accidental. Every automated response saves companies money; every unresolved complaint, every frozen account, is a small sacrifice made in favour of operational efficiency.
But on the other side of this success story stand millions of upset Nigerians, excluded, ignored, and becoming more sceptical of the digital economy.
Is There a Way Forward? Rebuilding Trust in a Digital Age
The digital economy doesn’t have to be heartless, but change won’t happen naturally. Fintechs need to rethink their obsession with automation:
- Blend human service with digital tools: Real people must return to customer care. Automation should support, not replace, human trust.
- Open the backend: Transparency about who controls transactions and what happens when errors occur can rebuild customer confidence.
- Design for people, not just profit: Platforms should work for rural traders, elderly customers, and digitally hesitant users, not just tech-savvy city dwellers.
- Regulators must step in: Consumer protection laws for fintechs should be enforced, not just announced.
The companies that solve these problems won’t only win customers, but will restore something more valuable: trust.
So, Are We Building an Economy That No Longer Understands Its People?
In Nigeria, digital payments were supposed to liberate people. Instead, they’ve left many feeling powerless. Trapped funds, unanswered complaints, faceless apps; this is exclusion in digital form.
Money, after all, is more than numbers on a screen; it’s a promise of security and in a country where trust usually matters more than documentation, an economy without human connection is one that has lost its way.
Machines are efficient. But people still need people.
