He stated this in his keynote address at the 2023 edition of the annual Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) FinTech Forum, held in Lagos recently.
The Forum focused on “Harnessing Nigeria’s Fintech Potential: Challenges and Opportunities”, as stated in a news release 2023/Vol. 1/No.4 by the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Rueben Muoka.
Maida, represented at the event by the Controller of NCC Lagos Zonal Office, Mr Henry Ojiokpota, said the theme of the forum was timely for a discourse on the financial industry, given the significant rise in digital financial services across the nation.
The EVC/CEO said FinTech is revolutionising Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, noting that it represents a positive disruption to the conventional financial system.
He said financial technology’s emergence to leverage technology to enhance financial services is an enhancer and enabler of business and other opportunities in the sphere of innovation, job creation and investment that further stimulates economic growth.
The NCC boss listed the financial services to include mobile banking, borrowing, investment and cryptocurrency.
He said such FinTech applications as robo-advisors, payment apps, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending apps, investment apps and crypto apps, among others, create business opportunities for individuals.
Maida also stated that the adoption of these FinTech applications for socio-economic gains by the youth, who account for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, will add value to the economy.
He recalled recent industry statistics citing active subscriptions across mobile networks in Nigeria, which hit 220.7 million in August 2023, to demonstrate that the Nigerian FinTech ecosystem can offer an array of financial services to telecom subscribers.
He said NCC will continue to expand and enhance telecommunications infrastructure to enable robust FinTech services.
He assured that it will also address consumer concerns and regulatory challenges in the sector as optimal utilisation of digital technologies will enhance the provision of financial services for rural communities and underserved segments of the population.
This, Maida added, would be done through leveraging of high mobile phone penetration in the country.
“Therefore, FinTech has the potential to deepen the existing payment and financial system infrastructure to reach unserved and underserved areas and further stimulate economic growth,” Maida said.
He said the Commission has begun implementing new strategies to meet the new target of 70 per cent Broadband penetration by 2025.
Maida said the new target is as contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 and the blueprint released by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy for accelerating the growth of the digital economy sector through technology.
The EVC/CEO said the policies and strategies have huge implications for enhancing derivable benefits of the FinTech industry as well as significantly and positively impacting Nigeria’s goals on financial inclusion and the digital economy at large.
The NCC boss promised that the Commission will continue to support the FinTech industry in harnessing its enormous potential and will not rest on its oars in its strides to address the challenges in the sector.
This, he said, included improving the provision of secured infrastructure that support the delivery of digital financial services in efficient ways.
He also reiterated the Commission’s focus on maintaining minimum standards in Quality of Service (QOS) to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to enhance sectoral contribution to the economy.
The EVC stated that NCC, in support of its vision in this sphere, has implemented a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The MoU, he said, is to boost payment systems and financial inclusion, which is in line with the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025.
He also informed that NCC will continue to play an important role in harnessing the potential of FinTech through maximum support for policies, enforcing regulations, and strengthening collaborations with relevant authorities.
