EPPAN laments slow pace of mobile payment adoption in Nigeria

DESPITE the country having over 140 million active mobile subscriptions, the Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN) has lamented the slow pace of mobile payment adoption in Nigeria.

EPPAN advocated strategic consolidated awareness creation among operators and government to increase its adoption.

Speaking at the just concluded two days Mobile Money Africa International conference tagged “Charting Africa’s Cashless Future”, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, Mrs. Onajite Regha, reminded stakeholders that mobile payment was expected to foster financial inclusion of the unbanked populace, facilitate economic activities and deliver on employment and economic growth on the long run.

Regha spoke on the topic: ‘Awareness creation: A Strategic Approach for the Adoption of Mobile Payment System in Nigeria.’ She said that despite the ongoing efforts by key players such as banks, mobile network operators and mobile payment service providers (MPSP) in promoting and offering mobile payment options, absence of widespread customer acceptance of this innovation has resulted in a lag in the adoption of mobile payments as an alternative form of payment mechanism.

While each of these players approached the market with different expectations, she advised that collective awareness creation was key to the success of mobile payments in Nigeria.

Drawing on the experience with cashless Nigeria mobilization where CBN led all industry players on a nationwide mobilization, Regha opined that no matter how great the mobile technologies and solutions provided are, they are useless if the users are not aware of the benefits to their lives.

She therefore encouraged the mobile payment service providers to come together and launch a massive awareness brand acoustic campaign to drive the message of the benefits of mobile payment to the consumers.