By Grace Alegba
Financial sector experts have urged banks and payment service providers to deepen collaboration, strengthen infrastructure and prioritise consumer protection as digital payment transactions continue to grow in Nigeria.
The experts made the call on Friday in Lagos during a panel session at the 2026 Conference of the Committee of Heads of Bank Operations with the theme “Reimagining the Future of Cash in a Digital First Economy”.
They spoke on “Reimagining Operations and Branches: Branch Transformation from Cash and Paper Counters to Digital Hubs”.
The panelists said stronger collaboration between deposit money banks and fintech companies was essential to safeguard trust in the payments system and ensure the continued relevance of bank branches.
They noted that in spite rising digital transaction volumes, challenges such as failed transactions, delayed reversals and fraud continued to undermine customer confidence.
Dr Stanley Jacob, President of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, said adoption of digital payments had increased, but trust remained the core challenge.
“Adoption has grown, but trust remains the fundamental issue in digital payments,” Jacob said.
He added that many customers still preferred to keep their funds in traditional banks, using digital accounts mainly for transactions due to confidence concerns.
Jacob said bank branches remained critical to trust, even as digital only banks expanded, noting that they served as key centres for dispute resolution.
“Nigerians treat bank branches like hospitals. You hope you never need them, but you cannot do without them in times of crisis,” he said.
He added that branches could play stronger roles in cybersecurity support, advanced authentication and verification of high value transactions.
Ms Adebambo Famuyiwa, Group Head, Retail Banking Operations, First Bank of Nigeria, cautioned banks against forcing digital adoption in an economy where cash usage remained significant.
She said unresolved transaction failures, slow dispute resolution and fraud incidents discouraged customers from embracing digital platforms.
“Banks should build products customers want, not what banks want,” Famuyiwa said.
The experts also said cash and cheques remained relevant, particularly for high value corporate transactions and audit purposes.
Mr Daniel Awe, Head, Africa Fintech Foundry, said banks could designate selected branches as innovation hubs to test ideas, gather customer feedback and identify operational gaps before full deployment.
The panelists expressed optimism about Nigeria’s payments ecosystem, noting that progress depended on stronger infrastructure, improved consumer protection and sustained industry collaboration.
They agreed that while digital payments would continue to expand, bank branches would remain an important part of the financial system.
(NAN)