Vice President and Head, Visa West Africa, Andrew Uaboi, in an interview with ADEYEMI ADEPETUN, believes Nigerian SMEs can leverage contactless payment for maximum impact.a

How is the payment landscape in Nigeria changing?
The payments industry thrives on constant innovation, and 2024 has presented a year of particularly significant transformations. Contactless payments are the catalyst for the next generation of payments, and the gateway for the countless possibilities in the world of connected devices. They continue to gain traction among consumers, merchants, and banks nationwide.

What are the advantages of contactless payments for customers in Nigeria?
Contactless payment technology is a fast, convenient way to make everyday purchases, especially at supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, gas stations and public transportation, helping consumers transform their lifestyle by streamlining their payment experience – all in just a few seconds for each transaction. Consumers are the biggest winners: contactless technology allows payments to be made simply by bringing the card over the payment terminal via short-range wireless technology.

How safe is contactless payment technology in Nigeria?
Visa is committed to ensuring the security of contactless payments in Nigeria. We are working to implement appropriate risk management measures while keeping to the best industry standards and The Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidelines. Visa Contactless cards use the same secure technology as EMV Chip, and every contactless transaction includes a one-time use cryptographic code that prevents counterfeit fraud. Visa contactless cards must be within four centimeters of a merchant’s contactless terminal for card information to be transmitted, and even if fraudsters were to get close enough to read a contactless card, they would not gain access to the cardholder’s name or the three-digit security code. Visa payment solutions evolve, and in partnership with the wider industry, we constantly adapt, enhance, and evolve our payment solutions to identify and address new risks. As a result of this industry collaboration, contactless cards are a secure way to pay, and consumers can use them with confidence.

How will contactless payments benefit small and medium-sized businesses?
Contactless payments will transform opportunities for SMBs to pay and be paid, making it possible to reach new audiences, easily accept secure payments, track, and monitor spending, increase security and safety, improve efficiencies, and grow like never before. This technology provides benefits to store owners, who can use it to ensure quick, streamlined payments at the register and increase operational efficiency by reducing cash usage. This in turn improves the user payment experience and increases sales.

What are the advantages of contactless payments for Nigerian issuer banks?
Contactless payments allow ecosystem players to build new experiences to replace cash usage. Additionally, it offers powerful benefits to issuer banks. Not only does it help penetrate small-ticket transactions and participate in new acceptance categories, but it also accelerates digital migration by driving preference for the banks’ products and developing new payment uses by combining tokens, biometrics, and other available platforms to improve the user experience.