“Cross-border payment systems will innovatively transform the way we approach business and trade in Africa” – Lazerpay CEO, Njoku Emmanuel

It is not every day that you find a 20-year-old tech prodigy running one of the most innovative companies out of Nigeria. For Njoku Emmanuel, the CEO and co-founder of the payment solutions startup, Lazerpay, the glaring potential with cross-border payment models was too big an opportunity to miss. Now, with his co-founder and CTO Suleiman Abdulfatai, Lazerpay is blooming into a robust payment solutions system that helps entrepreneurs across all business levels.

Seeing the potential of investing in developing cross-border payment systems is not a hard task. A large percentage of businesses in Africa find it hard to expand because of the complications surrounding cross-border payments. For example, as a Nigerian, it’s likely that you’ve experienced first-hand the challenges that come with sending and receiving money from another country. This usually boils down to a dilemma: either your payment takes days to be processed, or the currency exchange fees might be too high for comfort.

Another possibility is that your Debit card gets rejected during checkout, and you’re forced to look for other payment solutions, which is similar to looking for a needle in a haystack. In all, completing payment transactions in Africa prove cumbersome – which isn’t ideal for businesses or customers.

Interestingly, like many other successful tech founders across the globe, Njoku has seen the reality that miseducation will continue to hinder entrepreneurs from seeking and accessing veritable cross-border payment solutions, as well as prevent development in the ecosystem.

As a result, he took his wits to the shores of Nairobi, recently, where he spoke at the just concluded Seamless Africa 2022 Conference. He shared his dream for an Africa without borders at the banking and fintech event, which brings together key stakeholders from across the African ecosystem and beyond to discuss the latest trends, market disruptors and technologies shaping the payments, banking and fintech industry in Africa.

The conference, which took place earlier this month, in Nairobi, Kenya, featured notable speakers from around the world such as Obinna Ukwuani, Chief Digital Officer at Bank of Kigali, Jude Dike, Cofounder at Getequity, Adebola Olatunbosun, Head of Investor Relations at Fairmoney, Iheakachi Nwabueze, Head of Global Marketing, Grey and Tobi Amira, VP of Business Loans at TeamApt, among others.

Njoku, who spoke to the theme: “Paving the Way to Africa’s Economic Diversification and Inclusion: Boosting Trade with Digital Cross-Border Payment Systems” discussed how cross-border payment systems will innovatively transform the way business is conducted in Africa. He also highlighted the gap in cross-border payments between countries, largely driven by differences in currencies, as well as proffered solutions to the challenge.

According to him, there is no currency standardisation in Africa, and as a result, payments and commerce are disrupted. “One of our missions at Lazerpay is to solve this problem; we want to close the cross-border payment gap between African countries and regions.”

He also gave an overview of Lazerpay, which is a brainchild of his and his friend, Suleiman Abdulfatai. According to him, on discovering that there were no digital payment systems specifically designed to address the challenges of cross-border payments in Africa, they became driven by the desire to solve this. To Njoku, creating an Africa where issues with payments become a thing of the past and ultimately, businesses can operate seamlessly is vital to the future of trade in Africa.

Njoku also referred to Lazerpay as the Stripe of cryptocurrency and describes it as a payment service that provides creators and businesses in Africa with simplified payment processes using stablecoins. In a nutshell, Njoku is on a mission to leverage blockchain in creating solutions that will transform the existing financial systems in Africa.

He furthered his discourse, delving deep into the significance of having better-developed cross-border payment systems in Africa while proffering the following suggestions, which are all currently operationalized by Lazerpay, as sustainable solutions to creating the ecosystem of our dreams.

Stablecoins will end the era of sluggish traditional payment systems
One of the major challenges businesses face is instant payments. Africa is a low-trust environment, so traders and business owners need to confirm payments before proceeding with a trade. Traditional forms of cross-border payments can slow down business operations because of how long and hectic the payment process is.

For traders and businesses, this may pose a problem, which is why Lazerpay is solving the issue of cross-border payments with stablecoins. When compared to traditional payment methods, payments with stablecoins take approximately 5 minutes. It is the true definition of instant payment, with no cross-border restrictions.

Njoku believes that the Pan-African payment system can help businesses expand their intra-African trade opportunities. He imagines an Africa without borders, a continent where commerce and trade can take place freely between countries.

‘The fintech effect’
When it comes to payments in Africa, old solutions and technologies have existed for years but have yet to provide a solution to the problem of cross-border payments. Some banking and payment systems in Africa have been disrupted and simplified as a result of the invention of several Fintech startups.

“As technology solutions improve through the use of blockchain technology, we are bound to create solutions that will make cross-border payments simpler, faster, safer, and cheaper,” Njoku stated.

To increase adoption, fintech companies must also play a part in educating traders and businesses on how to use digital cross-border payment systems. They understand the depth of Africa’s payment gaps and strive at the intersection of finance and technology, resulting in the adoption and proper implementation of CBPS in African trade.

The Future of Cross-Border Trade in Africa
Njoku concluded the discussion by sharing his five-year vision for cross-border trade and digital cross-payment systems in Africa:

“I am very optimistic about the future, and I see the widespread adoption of borderless digital payment systems. A future in which making payments across borders within and outside of Africa becomes a very seamless process for buyers and sellers, where the cost of moving money across borders is significantly lower and also faster as technology advances, and where cross-border payment systems become a social and cultural norm in the way we do business in Africa.”