Speaking while making a presentation titled “Future of Money, Security, Customer Experience (CX)” at the Africa Tech Alliance (AfriTECH 3.0) held at The Providence Hotel, Ikeja GRA, last week, Mr. Chika Nwosu, the Managing Director of PalmPay, said that besides the operator putting the right things in place, the consumers also must the aware of how to protect themselves.

Nwosu who was represented at the Forum by Temitayo Oduwole, Head of IT and Payments at PalmPay, recounted the origin of money and its evolution to this moment and said that people are gradually moving away from paper money, where physical cash transactions are made, to what is today known as digital money where online and digital transactions now hold sway.

“All the services that we need are driven by technology, even the medium of exchange is also driven by technology. And the future of money right now is digital. If you look at the before and the now, right now because money has gone digital, we are experiencing a kind of transformation in the digital space. In terms of convenience, in terms of the ease of payment, that is what the future of money holds and that’s what we’re getting right now.

“I’m sure most people don’t even go around with cash again. Any transaction that you want to do, you can easily do that transaction on your phone, using your mobile wallet, using your card. So that is how money has transformed from being a cash-oriented medium to a digital medium right now,” he said.

Nwosu said PalmPay was prepared for this new regime of money and put a lot of robust infrastructure in place for risk management aimed at balancing the user experience with security in its app, adding that it has ensured that at any point in time, it puts measures in place that forestall a customer’s account being compromised.

“We have an AI in place, a logic that understands the pattern of your account, the pattern of your transaction. If it sees that somebody is doing something irrational or something out of the ordinary that you do on a normal day, because of the pattern that we’ve been able to build, we can block that transaction.

“And because we’re also going to have to look at technology-as-a-service, rather than having our infrastructure on prep, we’re having our infrastructure on the cloud. These are things that speak to infrastructure as a service, and technology-as-a-service, and are driving our reliability and sustainability today,” Nwosu said.

Nwosu admitted that though digital money is essential due to its speed, convenience, and accessibility, it also comes with its own threats and its own security challenges, especially in the face of nefarious activities around cybercrime.

“There are different channels by which people can access their money. However, in accessing this money, there is a potential challenge of having your funds being taken over by some people that you don’t want them to have access to it. There are lots of things happening around the future of money in terms of safety and in terms of security.

“We have online fraud. We have a local simulation. Identity theft is on the rise. We are being infused into devices, into servers. We have phishing in which e-mails are sent to deceive you to believe that the e-mails are coming from a genuine source. These are things that can affect or impact the digital money currency.

“The most important thing, again, is that at any point in time, as much as we are creating the environment to make sure that fraud is actually reduced in terms of cyber security, we are addressing all the things that need to be addressed so that from a digital money perspective, we are able to access the money without any fear. We can do a transaction without any fear.

“It’s also very important to understand that any time a fraud happens, a notification is very important. Next slide, please. Lack of security awareness is top of the reasons why consumers are scammed or defrauded. And what we try to do in PalmPay is to raise that awareness, to let our customers know that their personal information is only personal to them,” he said.

The Managing Director stated that lack of knowledge to protect personal information, patronizing fake sites and social media pages, and attempts or pivots on unofficial channels, are some of the things that could lead to customers being scammed or defrauded.

On PalmPay’s approach to enhancing customer security on its app, Nwosu said over the past four years it has been in the Nigerian market, it has been able to marry security with customer experience, which has remained the attraction to its brand.

“What we’ve done is binding. Your phone is bound such that even if you change your phone, you put in your credentials, and there’s an OTP that has been sent to revalidate and authorize the customer who is trying to do that transaction. One of the other things that we’ve also done to make sure that our customers are well protected is to have an inactive session set up.

“An inactive session has to do with if you’re not doing anything on your app, then it’s time out. It doesn’t give room for people to have access to that phone or your mobile app and try to do something. Because if you keep the mobile app up, anybody could actually have access to it, and they could do any transaction. Not to forget the fact that for every transaction that you do as well, it’s been enabled. We have a metric just to make sure that it is the right person that is accessing your account at any point in time,” Nwosu concluded.

Themed: “Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) in Emerging Economy”, AfriTECH 3.0 is also supported by Comercio Limited, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), Datasixth Security Consulting, PalmPay, Reliance Infosystem, Digital Realty, ActivEdge Technologies, Africa Data Centres (ADC), WTES, ESET and host of others.

Hosted by TechCastle Foundation in collaboration with Techeconomy and partners, AfriTECH 3.0 is a unique engagement platform for global thought leaders, regulators, and other stakeholders to discuss and collaborate on contemporary strategies for accelerating technology ecosystem in the African continent and globally.

Speaking ahead of the Forum next week, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, co-convener of AfriTECH, reiterated that today, the boundary between hardware and software is blurring. Software is infiltrating more and more technology products that used to function only by mechanical rules and analog signals.

“Different models of driverless cars are navigating themselves with sensors and software. This trend is not stopping. Hardware-based technology companies often find themselves falling behind their innovative software counterparts in identifying new value for customers.

“In more dramatic cases categories of hardware technology got replaced by software. No one still buys radio or CD players anymore.

Thus, software is threatening to replace hardware-based networking. The “commoditization trap” for hardware seems impossible to escape without a product strategy backed by software innovation hence over 70% of the world economy has become services, and this percentage continues to grow worldwide.

As of 2020 the United States produced 79% of its GDP in services. Majority of the companies in Africa are strategizing to compete primarily on a service basis.

This approach referred to as Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS), which is the rising future for technology sectors, will be discussed at AfriTECH 3.0.

Programmes expected at AfriTECH 3.0 include keynotes by Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) & Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Open Access Data Centre (OADC), goodwill messages by industry stakeholders, fireside chat, commercial presentations/product launch and media sessions.

The prestigious Africa Tech Alliance Excellence (ATAEx) Awards will be conferred on individuals and organisations that have distinguished themselves in Africa by leveraging technology to enrich the lives of the people.

“Other key topics to be explored include TaaS-driven last mile solutions, leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, inclusive product innovation, Driving ‘TaaS’ Model through infrastructure deployment, leveraging subscription model to survive tough economic times, cloud computing, omnichannel communications for improved CX, Consumer protection, fraud and data privacy, etc”, Peter Oluka, the co-convener of AfriTECH, said.

“The past editions of AfriTECH were well attended by C-Suite executives, investors, innovators, senior government officials from within and outside the Continent. With over 1,500 participants and feedback on the events overwhelmingly positive, the 2023 edition is much anticipated.

As Media partners;

The Guardian Newspaper (Nigeria), Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, RaveNewsOnline.com, ITPulse.com.ng, ITNews Nigeria, Swift Reporters, TechBuild.Africa, TechTrends.Africa, BusinessMetricsng.com, BusinessRemarks, DigitalTimesng.com, ITRealms.com.ng, GrassRoots.ng, TechTv, TechLifeWithUgo, DigiVation Network, TechnologyMirror, TechandBiz News, APNews, CyberEra, have demonstrated their support towards AfriTECH 3.0 actualization.

AfriTECH 3.0 is also backed by leading industry associations such as the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS); Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ATLTON); Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN); InnovationBed Africa; Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), amongst others.

“Overall, AfriTECH 3.0 promises to be an insightful and engaging platform for networking with a vibrant and globally diverse community and an eclectic mix of offerings to enrich participants’ in-person and/or virtual experience”, Oluka added.

Other special honourees at the award ceremony held during AfriTECH 2.0 are; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, General Manager, Fixed Broadband, MTN Nigeria, and Dr. Ruth Oji, Faculty Member, Institute of Humanities, Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lagos.

Prof. Pantami received Digital Economy Hero of the Year Award in recognition of his resilience and leadership excellence leading to Nigeria’s digital economy progress including the National Identity Database, Commercial 5G Rollout, enactment of the Nigeria Startup Act and the global branding his personality brought to Nigeria as the Chairman of UN-WSIS 2022.

Similarly, Prof. Danbatta bagged 5G Core Leadership Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the African Telecommunications industry, especially the outstanding performance during the cause of commercial 5G launch in Nigeria.

Digital Economy Ambassador of the Year Award was presented to NITDA boss, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCEI, for his leading role as towards the enactment of Nigeria Startup Act, deepened Government-Tech ecosystem partnerships, international recognitions, amongst others.

Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka emerged the AfriTECH 2022 Telecommunication Woman of the Year in recognition of her contributions to the telecommunications industry and leadership in driving transformational change in the sector; evidenced by MTN Nigeria’s innovative and cutting-edge communications, connectivity and collaborative solutions.

While Dr. Ruth Oji, received special Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award as recognition of her contributions toward flawless writing in Media Practice.

Dr. Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive, West Africa at Africa Data Centres (ADC), also received Data Centre Influencer of the Year as an influential personality in the West African data centre operations.

PAN-Africa CyberSecurity Excellence Award was conferred on Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Co-Founder/Chief Visionary Officer (CVO), Digital Encode Limited, for his exceptional achievements and contributions to the development of cybersecurity in Africa, while Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Digital Encode Limited bagged Blockchain Technology Mastery Personality Award for his outstanding efforts in awareness creation towards the adoption of Blockchain Technology on the Continent.

Galaxy Backbone Limited received ‘Data Centre Company of the Year’ as a company that is contributing to building solid computing power for MDAs of government.

ZOHO Technologies Limited received Africa Digital Enabler Award for technological impact on Africa’s digital economy through various products/solutions you offer; particularly the Zoho Africa Digital Enabler packages that help small businesses take steps towards digital transformation.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) received ‘Best Digital Economy Project of the Year Award’ for its regulatory excellence and transparent processes leading to commercial 5G launch in Nigeria.

The Best Crypto Exchange Platform of the Year was presented to TradeFada for distinguishing itself as a top Cryptocurrency exchange offering actionable and easy-to-use digital currency trading platform’.

Medallion Data Centres received Excellence Award in Data Centre Operations for its leading role in building West Africa’s digital transformation with keen interest in the future; cutting across data centre infrastructure deployment, amongst others.

CyberSecurity Company of the Year Award was conferred on ESET. The award screening committee identified ESET for its innovative solutions towards protecting individuals and businesses through robust security products, services, and awareness creation in Africa.

Africa Tech Alliance Forum awards ceremony aims to celebrate and reward companies and individuals on the African continent that have demonstrated excellence in the areas of innovative product/service development, policy/regulations, amongst other areas.