'Rework data regulation' - Paga tells NCC

Nigerian mobile payment company, Paga, has encouraged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to review its regulation on data pricing.

The company added that Nigeria is not a prime destination for offshore cash, adding that it is not easy getting a business profitable in the country in the face of a myriad of challenges.

Paga's founder, Tayo Oviosu, who addressed the people in Lagos during a media session to mark the company’s 15th anniversary, stated that the company has navigated the fintech space over the period and commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for providing the leadership.

Tayo added that to deepen financial inclusion in the country, NCC has to rework its regulation on data to make access to it affordable.

According to him, the cost of data is high, serving as a disincentive for the uptake of digital financial services.

He said: “As of today, we have 23 million users. At the end of March, we had processed 335 million transactions since inception, worth over N14 trillion or $32 billion and 80 per cent of that we did in the last five years. This last quarter was our best quarter ever.

“When you look at our 10th anniversary, which was five years ago, from then we have grown volumes by five times and transaction values by seven times.”

While recalling the company’s milestones in the last 15 years, Oviosu said one of the biggest achievements of the company was the several people it was able to empower through job creation.

On the performance of the CBN, he said: “The regulator has made very clear the categorization and that has attracted a lot of competitors. And that’s a good thing. We don’t look at that as a bad thing because it also keeps us on our toes.

“And so all the competitors are a bit different in how they do things. I think our market is very similar to India. I don’t think it’s a winner-takes-all because there is no one person in Nigeria that has only one financial account. I’ve not met a Nigerian who has only one account. So, it’s not a winner-takes-all, but you probably have one that you prefer.”

Addressing the challenges the company has faced over the years, he said: “When I started Paga, there were no angel investors; there was no tech ecosystem because nobody was doing anything at that time. So, when you are going out to pitch to investors, you are not just going out to pitch Paga, you have to pitch the story of Nigeria. And that was very hard because of the macro issues in Nigeria, so that was a real challenge.”

BEB