Fintechs can be catalyst for unprecedented growth ―Zakka

Layer, a leading innovator in financial technology that helps banks digitalise their offering, retaining core systems while delivering an enhanced experience for customers and employees alike, has partnered with the United Bank for Africa to evolve traditional banking and introduce modernised financial services across Africa. In this interview, Layer’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Roy Zakka, tells SULAIMON OLANREWAJU how fintechs can engender economic growth, among others. Excerpts:

 

How has the fintech space evolved in Africa over the years and what are some important changes that need to occur in this space?

While it is no secret that the African economy has suffered due to the pandemic, the fintech space is an emerging market set to help in the recovery process of numerous African countries. This is attributed in part to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which contributes to the boost of the fintech space, particularly with solving cross-border payment within the continent.

Fintechs are, as a result, launching incentives to encourage the development of the industry. In effect, financial services firms like Layer are uniquely positioned to use and leverage their existing infrastructure to create access, and usage of digital financial services. Growing evidence suggests that there is a trend that the journey of using innovative technology and financial inclusion in Africa is not only picking up but even shows a rather promising outlook for the future. It just needs the government in each country to promote and motivate new businesses to simply start. Don’t slow everything down with red tape and regulations. Let the entrepreneurs build. Help them. Fund them. Mentor them. A buzzing fintech scene can really be a catalyst for unprecedented future growth. We’ve seen this work in Ireland, the UK and The Netherlands. This would help kick-start the fintech boom in Africa.

 

Why is economic diversification so important in Africa and what role can emerging fintech technologies play in this?

Economic diversity is important for any country, not just the ones in Africa. As economies diversify they bring more of the population into the workforce. Jobs are the cornerstone of economic development. Whether you are a single owner of a business or a budding SME, the role of Fintech is to empower that business to seamlessly conduct commerce by reducing friction and removing any barriers. In today’s world that means thinking about more than just payments, transactions and banking but also providing employees with tools to serve their customers better and enabling these customers to easily consume the products and services of the businesses. Fintech is fundamental to modern commerce. For Layer, this is how we developed our digital platform – empowering the business, its employees and its customers with little to no friction in between.

 

How can new fintech partnerships help financial institutions streamline new payment services without replacing core legacy systems?

This approach is actually embedded in our name – Layer. One of the reasons our platform reduces risks and lowers operating costs is that we do not rip and replace. Instead, we layer new innovative, agile and digital technologies on top of existing infrastructure which allows our customers to continue operating with no risk of disruption to legacy systems but at the same time enables them to roll out new highly customised and desirable products and services.

 

What are the industry challenges you have observed that are peculiar to Nigeria? 

Foreign exchange risk is the biggest challenge. The barriers to the free flow of money in or out of the country limits what people can or are willing to invest in and what people can or are willing to buy. This is a challenge for the Fintech community to help resolve and it is something we are also investing in. The reliable infrastructure reduces the quality of services organisations can provide which leads to higher costs if one wants to compete on the international stage. At layer, we help overcome this with highly intelligent platforms with redundancy built-in.

 

Do government policies aid or hinder fintech operations in Nigeria?

Every country has their own set of policies and regulations that business must abide by and Nigeria is not different. With such a flourishing Fintech ecosystem, we would not say that this has been a hindrance. At Layer, we strive to make it easier for financial institutions to conform to these regulations no matter how many countries they operate in. We provide a single seamlessly managed platform that will provide all the compliance requirements for each country. This is an example of reducing the barriers and friction for businesses to operate as mentioned before.

 

What are the details of your partnership with UBA?

We partnered with United Bank for Africa (UBA) to fuel its digital transformation aimed at providing greater access to a wide range of financial services for all of its African customers.

We provided UBA with a market-ready, future-proofed, scalable digital banking platform that successfully launched in over 20 markets, in four languages, in six months.

UBA has implemented all of the capabilities available on the Layer platform to provide end-to-end digitalisation of their banking services, delivered through a new mobile app and website to approximately 20 million users. One of the main areas in which UBA wanted to focus was in Lifestyle Banking. What could they deliver that goes above and beyond traditional banking services. This is one of the main reasons why they choose us over a lot of our competitors.

Banking has become ubiquitous across every aspect of our lives. So they needed a platform that could really make them stand out from their competitors. Two examples of lifestyle banking that UBA has already launched are (i) ordering food from inside the banking app and (ii) arranging an appointment with your doctor.

These are some of the really cool things you can do with an innovative digital platform. After using 20+ different systems and databases, UBA now offers best-in-class banking products and services across the African continent, all from one innovative platform.

 

What are the unique offerings of layer?

Some of the key characteristics of this platform design and the outcomes of it include:

Replication of data – Replication of client data into the Layer data warehouse to give stability on top of which new banking services and experiences can be created.

Technology performance management – provision of a variety of audit and technology reporting tools ensuring the platform is performing as necessary.

A complete range of banking services – offered in modularised fashion and includes both traditional functionalities and next-generation capabilities.

Configurability – Clients can tailor their version of the platform for their specific needs and market. This is done without affecting the underlying services or platform code.

Extensibility – API-driven throughout with all services available for external consumption.

Omnichannel experiences -Through a variety of best-in-class user interfaces, consistency of experience is delivered for the end customer and client employee alike.  

Complete digital transformation – Solutions that support our clients in giving not only a great end customer experience but also to manage their customers and business better.

By having a comprehensive platform architected in the right way, Layer enables banks to rapidly digitally transform (within 4-6 months) and compete effectively in the new digital age of banking.

 

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Lagos Is Second Least Liveable City In The World For 2021

Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world for the year 2021. This is according to the most recent annual ranking put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)…

FACT CHECK: Did UNICEF Say Blocking Children’s Access To Pornography Constitutes Human Rights’ Infringement?

CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.

VERDICT: MISLEADING!