SystemSpecs Lauds Fintech’s Growing Role as Financial Intermediary

Olusola  Bello

SystemSpecs has lauded the efforts of Nigeria fintechs as intermediaries in financial transactions using cutting-edge innovations and  consumer-oriented solutions.

Speaking on Fintechs and Changes in Financial Intermediation, Demola Igbalajobi, an Executive Director of SystemSpecs, made the above assertion at the Information Technology (IT) and consulting webinar hosted by the Institute of Chattered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) recently.

A financial intermediary is an entity that acts as the middleman between two parties in a financial transaction. They are meant to serve as a bridge in complex financial transactions and take a fee as compensation for the risk involved.

Igbalajobi, who was represented by the SystemSpecs’ Head of Payments Technology and Infrastructure, Mujib Ishola, stated that fintechs have become an alternative in the financial intermediation process traditionally performed by banks and other licenced money handlers.

“Fintechs are making inroads due to a number of factors including their agility and speed to market, less risk-aversion, focus on service rather than regulation, and the current inefficiencies in the operations of traditional banks,” he said.

He added that the rapid growth of digital technology innovation has led to the rise of fintech platforms, facilitating solutions in several areas including mobile money, insurtech, agrictech, crypto transactions, and many others.

“Fintech can be operators that provide direct services to customers. They can provide platforms as a service, develop platforms for other financial entities, or serve as a support platform for ancillary services such as data referencing, data verification, and collection,” he said.

More so, fintechs are focussing on specific areas of customer needs, such as payment, lending, or verification, unlike traditional banks who provide different types of financial services from a single platform