African governments have been urged to expedite actions that will remove existing barriers to the adoption of cashless payment solutions.
Nearly 13 years after the launch of M-Pesa in Kenya, there are nearly 200 million consumers subscribed to various mobile money services across the continent.
But speaking on the sidelines of the press launch of the African Cashless Payment Systems (ACPS) Conference, to be held in Accra from May 31st to June 2nd, 2020, Myke Uzendu, the Director of Communications at the Foreign Investment Network, organizers of the program, said there is the need for African governments to show more political will to quicken the move to cashless societies.
“Politicians are primarily concerned about how a cashless system will affect their political fortunes. Cash used in bribing supporters and political partners is not easily tracked, but same cannot be said of cashless payment which can expose them. But if they have the political will and have the growth of the system in mind they will master the political will to push the necessary bills.”
“People are also apprehensive because of the cost of transactions that accompany the cashless payment system in the country. But this shouldn’t be. All steps must be taken to reduce the cost of transactions significantly to make cashless payment systems attractive to the general public” he added.
The African Cashless Payment Systems (ACPS) Conference
The Conference is set to be opened by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Other expected dignitaries include: Dr. Akinwumi Adeshina, President African Development Bank (AfDB); Prof. Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla, former Managing Director World Bank as well as Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor Central Bank of Ghana.
Dr. Fabio Scacciavillani, Chief Economist Oman Investment Fund Muscat; Minister of Finance (Nigeria) Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Minister of Communication and Digital Economy (Nigeria) Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami among others, will also speak on topical issues affecting cashless transactions in Africa.
The Conference will facilitate latest technology demonstrations, knowledge sharing, high-level networking, and most importantly, one-to-one business meetings between decision makers and top-tier solution providers transforming the digital future of the financial firmament in the region.
Sheik Mohammed Bayorh, Board Member of the Foreign Investment Network (FIN), the organizers of the event, stressed that the conference will be a new dawn for Africa in the area of digital transactions and tracking illicit capital flight.
“All over the world, the use of paper money is becoming obsolete. It has a lot of risk and leaves less trail and also very expensive to manage. This conference will provide the window for Africa to key into the future of financial transactions which is now cashless, paperless and digital. Other nuances of the conference will be to interrogate other currency substitutes and technologies like Block-chain and Crypto-currency Systems, Artificial Intelligence etc. African Entrepreneurs must key into this conference to become competitive in a digitized world”.
Expected at the event are participants from diverse countries. There will be exhibition booths for banking solutions, presentations, expert lectures, group projects and panel discussions.