By Chinenye Anuforo
Leading fintech operator, Paga said it processed over N14 trillion or $32billion payment transactions in the 15 years it has operated in the Nigerian financial services sector.
Managing director of the firm, Tayo Oviosu, who briefed the press at the weekend as part of activities to mark its 15th anniversary in Lagos, said the company currently services over 23million customers in addition to about 150 businesses using three lines of business cutting across customer payment services, provision of payment infrastructure platform for other fintech operators and doroki services.
Oviosu explained that over these years, Paga had provided more than 1000 direct job with an estimated 100,000 indirect jobs spread across the country.
He said the firm was excited that millions of customers across Nigeria are enjoying financial freedom through its services even as it targets expanding access to financial services for over 1 billion users across the globe.
The Paga boss revealed the financial times recently listed the company among the 50th fastest growing businesses in the world on account of its growth trajectory in the payment space.
On some of it challenges, he urged the federal government through the Nigeria Communications Commission to reduce the cost of data for average citizens to ensure that more people have access to internet and payment system.
On the security measures, Oviosu said “We have made sure that every steps on the way, we have multiple layers of security to our system, to our customers, to protect their accounts. We are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certified, a widely accepted set of policies and procedures intended to optimize the security certified.”
As efforts to give back to the society, the CEO averred that Paga has partnered with Utiva, a tech training platform, to empower 18 women with scholarships to learn desired in-demand skills in tech.
He commended the regulator for formulating policies that have helped the Fintech industry to grow in recent time. “The regulator has made very clear the categorization and that has attracted a lot of competitors. And that’s a good thing. We don’t look at that as a bad thing because it also keeps us on our toes. And so all the competitors are a bit different in how they do things. I think our market is very similar to India. I don’t think it’s a winner-takes-all because there is no one person in Nigeria that has only one financial account. I’ve not met the Nigerian who has only one account. So, it’s not a winner-takes-all, but you probably have one that you prefer,” he said.