A NIGERIAN Fintech expert, Babatunde Esanju, has urged financial technology builders to prioritise artificial intelligence (AI) as a critical tool for tackling fraud and expanding access to credit, warning that current systems are failing to keep pace with evolving threats.

In a statement on the state of Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, Esanju said the country continues to lose billions of naira annually to financial fraud, while millions of creditworthy citizens remain excluded from formal lending systems.

According to him, the challenge is not due to a lack of technology but a “failure of imagination,” noting that traditional fraud detection systems are increasingly ineffective against sophisticated, fast-evolving schemes.

“The fraud challenge in Nigerian fintech is adversarial,” he said, citing the rise of social engineering attacks, synthetic identities and account takeovers. “Platforms relying on static, rule-based systems are fighting a losing battle, as fraudsters quickly adapt and exploit loopholes.”

He explained that AI-driven systems offer a more dynamic approach by learning patterns of normal behaviour and flagging anomalies in real time. Such systems, he said, can analyse multiple data points — including transaction velocity, geolocation and device activity — across millions of interactions within seconds.

Drawing from his experience working with institutions such as the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and NSIA Insurance, Esanju noted that the transition from rule-based systems to machine learning models has proven to be one of the most effective investments in fraud prevention.

Beyond fraud, he highlighted AI’s potential to unlock credit access for millions of Nigerians who are currently excluded from traditional financial systems due to a lack of formal credit histories.

He said AI-powered credit scoring can assess alternative data such as airtime purchases, bill payments and transaction behaviour, allowing lenders to evaluate individuals who have never taken formal loans.

“Nigeria has tens of millions of adults who are creditworthy but invisible to traditional credit systems,” he said. “AI can read their financial stories in ways legacy systems cannot.”

However, Esanju cautioned against viewing AI as a “silver bullet,” warning of significant risks if not properly implemented. He pointed to concerns around data bias, poor data quality and lack of transparency in automated decision-making.

He stressed that biased datasets could lead to unfair outcomes, particularly for informal sector workers, while weak data integrity could result in inaccurate assessments. He also emphasised the importance of explainability, noting that customers and regulators must be able to understand decisions made by AI systems.

Esanju further advised fintech operators to prioritise data quality, embed compliance from the outset and focus on building trust among users, describing trust as a core product in Nigeria’s financial services landscape.

He added that AI represents the most powerful tool available to build faster, safer and more inclusive financial systems, urging stakeholders to focus not just on adoption but on responsible implementation.