By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
FirstBank’s Fintech Summit this year reiterated the importance of Open Banking which facilitates greater customer interaction through the use of data in-house and by business partners in a secure and safe format.
Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a technology professor who spoke virtually from the United States, explained that open banking does not pose risk to data privacy because its software, Application Programming Interface (API), runs on Artificial Intelligence (AI) which eliminates human involvement and wards of breach.
One of the finest moments in Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem happened in the 1990s when new species of banks were created and “intra-bank” integration linked their branches into a mammoth network, he recalled.
He said this made it possible that “once you open an account in one branch of a bank in Nigeria, you can bank from all the bank’s branches.”
As the world moved from voice telephony to the mobile internet age, he added, “intra-bank” was upgraded to “inter-bank” through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), offering a unified quasi-banking ordinance.
Ekekwe stressed that “with Open Banking, this evolution goes beyond banks to now include insurance, mortgage, et cetera, to drive the new age of application utility era which I expect to be massive.
“From the 7th century Tang dynasty of the invention of paper money to the Great Debate of Pythagoras and to the modern concept of co-opetition, one thing has been constant: industries advance when they find ways to cooperate even as they compete against one another.
“Open Banking is a vista to advance the financial services sector, and accelerate innovation and improve service delivery for citizens, unbounded and unconstrained by disparate ecosystems.
“Financial APIs will change economies, but they can only be super-potent if powered within a unified regime which open banking offers.
“Across all domains, ‘open’ offers abundance, and open banking has a promise to redesign industrial architectures and unleash a new dawn for the wealth in nations.”
Like the previous editions since the inception in 2016, FirstBank FinTech Summit 5.0 brought together the finest and most innovative experts at the forefront of digital innovation both locally and on the global stage.
As was the case in 2000 because of pandemic restrictions, this year’s Summit was held virtually to allow people from all over the world participate and access the same quality of discussants and speakers.
This year’s theme, “Open Banking and its Derivative Opportunities for the Financial Ecosystem”, was discussed by experts, policy influencers, regulators, operators, investors, enthusiasts, bankers, fintech journalists and writers, et al.
They included
- Ndubuisi Ekekwe – lead faculty of Tekedia Institute with a PhD in engineering from John Hopkins University, United States. He will lead the discussion as the keynote speaker alongside other panellists
- Ankit Sharma – Director at Strategy and a part of the PwC network based in Mexico
- Ope Adeoye – One Pipe Chief Executive Officer (Chief Plumber)
- Aminu Maida – Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Executive Director, Technology & Operations
- Musa Jimoh – Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN) Deputy Director, Payment Systems
- Olayinka Situ – FirstBank Head of Corporate Transformation
FirstBank stresses that Open Banking is convenient and a game-changer that transforms value creation, product conceptualisation, and closes the gap in financial exclusion.
Standardised and accessible API technologies provide innovators and product developers with huge data and insights to redefine standards for product conceptualisation, customer satisfaction, and service delivery.
Fintech Summit 5.0 explored the depth and range of these opportunities through Open Banking in Africa’s biggest economy.
This year’s theme was selected against the backdrop of the increasingly prominent role open data, AI, and cloud-based technologies are playing, in the broader tech-space, and more specifically in the financial services and fintech platforms.
Pervasive intersection of these variables in various aspects of human enterprise represents a powerful force for the creation of new ventures via a new gateway that promotes unlimited value creation or innovation.
Open Banking represents such an intersection, according to FirstBank, setting its roots down in financial services and embodying transformative potential that redefines customer satisfaction across the financial ecosystem.
Global platform for fintech innovation
First Bank Chief Executive Officer Adesola Adeduntan explained that the Summit was organised to create a global platform for conversations around the future of innovation in the financial technology space.
“The objective is to contribute to the evolution of banking and finance service delivery” and this year’s theme “recognises the increasing pervasive role open data, cloud technology and artificial intelligence play in the financial ecosystem,” he said.
“Open banking today demonstrates the practical fusion of these variables, presenting remarkable potentials that can redefine product development, customer experience and overall value creation; with multiplier effects for both players and consumers.”
Adeduntan said the Regulatory Framework for Open Banking which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued on financial data sharing across the financial ecosystem and the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) all demonstrate the future of regulations on Open Banking.
“As an institution of 127 years and having traversed [a] series of regulatory transformation over the years, FirstBank will continue to play its role in furthering conversations to refine regulatory frameworks and shape thoughts on industry and societal developments.
“We will also continue to demonstrate our support for startups and innovators in the fintech space by providing them the relevant data support and infrastructure to enable them scale appropriately.
“Every step we take continues to be geared towards strategically positioning us as the bridgehead and reference point for fintech and financial services providers across the African continent, as we will continue to lead the charge towards realising the future of banking.”
Adeduntan said the financial services industry will benefit from the conversations at the Summit for months to come and the platform will continue to devise “innovative solutions to further drive growth and deepen financial inclusion as we explore the inherent opportunities in Open Banking with other experts across industries.”