First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Zakari Mumuni, has called for urgent action to build inclusive and interoperable instant payment systems across Africa, insisting that such systems are now critical economic infrastructure for the continent’s digital future.

Speaking at the 2026 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Dr. Mumuni warned that fragmented payment systems, high transaction costs and weak interoperability continue to undermine Africa’s digital economic ambitions. 

“Inclusive instant payments are therefore not optional — they are essential infrastructure,” he stressed while delivering a keynote address on the theme “Inclusive Instant Payments as Economic Infrastructure.” 

According to him, Africa has made significant progress over the past two decades through mobile money, fintech innovation, agency banking and digital wallets, but seamless usability across systems remains a major challenge. 

“Africa stands at a decisive moment,” he stated.

“We have achieved remarkable progress in expanding access to financial services, yet the foundations of our payment systems remain fragmented, costly and insufficiently interconnected,” he added. 

Dr. Mumuni explained that properly designed instant payment systems would enable real-time, low-cost transactions across interoperable networks linking banks, fintech firms and consumers into a unified ecosystem. 

“In doing so, they convert fragmented access into meaningful economic participation,” he said. 

The First Deputy Governor noted that inclusive payment systems could improve business cash cycles, strengthen liquidity management and provide underserved communities with reliable and affordable financial services. 

He added that governments would also benefit through improved revenue mobilisation, enhanced transparency and more efficient delivery of public interventions. 

For financial institutions, he said instant payment systems would create valuable transaction data capable of driving innovation in credit, savings and risk management products. 

Despite recent progress on the continent, Dr. Mumuni acknowledged that no instant payment system in Africa has yet achieved inclusivity at scale. 

“This underscores a central reality: building infrastructure is not enough — we must ensure that it works universally and equitably,” he stated. 

He argued that while central banks have already established strong regulatory foundations, regulation alone cannot deliver full integration.

“What is required now is coordinated execution across the ecosystem,” he stressed. 

According to him, regulators, payment system operators, financial institutions and fintech firms must collaborate to build interoperable systems that eliminate friction and expand financial access. 

Dr. Mumuni further called for reforms including harmonised electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) frameworks, aligned licensing regimes and stronger cross-border cooperation to deepen interoperability across African payment systems. 

“In Ghana, we have made tangible progress, including the deployment of multiple instant payment platforms and ongoing efforts to strengthen inter-scheme interoperability,” he disclosed. 

However, he stressed that Ghana’s ambition goes beyond merely building payment systems.

“The objective is not simply to build systems, but to ensure that they are accessible, affordable and trusted by every segment of society,” he added. 

He therefore urged African governments and financial institutions to move beyond fragmented systems toward full interoperability and integrated payment infrastructure across the continent.

“The path is clear, the technology is available and the benefits are substantial. What is needed now is commitment and execution,” he said. 

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Rwanda’s Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, Hon. Nick Barigye, has cautioned African countries against relying solely on technology to drive digital transformation, insisting that governance and policy coordination remain the real engines of progress.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the 2026 3i Africa Summit in Accra on Thursday, May 7, 2026, he said many governments wrongly assume technology by itself can solve economic and social challenges.

“At times, it is tempting to think technology is the answer to society’s issues. It is not,” he stressed.

The fireside chat, held under the sub-theme “DPI Success Stories: Lessons from Building and Scaling DPI Ecosystems,” examined how countries are using digital public infrastructure systems to transform payments, identity management and financial inclusion at scale.

The discussion also explored lessons from successful digital infrastructure models such as India’s UPI, Ghana’s Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems and Nigeria’s BVN system.

Mr. Barigye explained that Rwanda’s progress in digital infrastructure was achieved through strong governance, institutional coordination and a clear national vision.

“Governance provides clarity. Governance provides vision. Governance provides coordination and the ability to execute very fast,” he stated.

He highlighted Rwanda’s digital platform, “Irembo,” which currently delivers more than 240 services across over 40 institutions through a single integrated system.

According to him, the platform was designed around a government objective of “zero trip, zero error,” allowing citizens to access services digitally without physically moving between offices.

He explained that services such as criminal record checks can now be completed online within hours.

The Deputy Governor also stressed the importance of shared infrastructure, warning that fragmented systems operated independently by institutions increase costs and weaken efficiency.

“Shared infrastructure reduces cost and improves efficiency,” he said.

Mr. Barigye further argued that sustainability in digital public infrastructure should not be measured by who funds it initially, but by whether it solves real societal problems.

“The first question should not be who pays for it. The first question should be what societal problem are we solving?” he stated.

He noted that once citizens and businesses see value in digital systems, large-scale adoption naturally follows, creating long-term sustainability.

The fireside chat was moderated by Matteo Rizzi, Founder of Timepledge and Senior Advisor at the Global Finance and Technology Network.

The summit has brought together regulators, central bank officials, fintech companies and investors to discuss Africa’s digital finance future and cross-border integration.

Fintech leaders at the 3i Africa Summit have called for deeper collaboration, talent development and regulatory alignment to position Africa as a global hub for digital finance innovation.

Speaking at a joint media briefing, Chief Executive Officer of JUMO Ghana, Philip Owusu-Gyamfi, Senior Partner at GFTN, Matteo Rizzi, and Group Chief Executive Officer of JUMO, Paul Whelpton, said Africa had moved beyond simply adopting financial technology and was now producing innovations with global relevance.

According to the speakers, the rapid growth of mobile money, digital lending and fintech services across the continent has demonstrated Africa’s ability to develop solutions capable of transforming lives and economies.

“Africa has been a champion for innovation in financial services in the past 10 years. What we need now is acceleration,” Paul Whelpton stated.

The executives stressed that sustaining the next phase of growth would require deliberate investment in African talent, stronger cooperation between regulators and industry players, and harmonised digital finance systems across borders.

They noted that digital finance has already expanded access to credit and payment services for millions of Africans who were previously excluded from the traditional banking sector.

“We are transitioning from mobile money systems into true digital finance, and that presents enormous opportunities for African markets,” Philip Owusu-Gyamfi said.

The speakers also highlighted that several African innovations, particularly mobile money systems pioneered in East Africa, have become global models replicated in markets across Asia, including Bangladesh.

“We need to start telling our own innovation stories because Africa has genuinely pioneered solutions that the rest of the world is now learning from,” Owusu-Gyamfi added.

The media briefing further focused on the need for regulatory cooperation to accelerate cross-border digital trade and financial inclusion across the continent.

The executives pointed to ongoing efforts aimed at simplifying licensing processes and improving interoperability among African financial systems, arguing that connected digital platforms could significantly reduce barriers to doing business across Africa.

“The benefit of digital finance is that it is cross-border and transferable. Once systems are connected, transactions and customer verification become much easier,” Matteo Rizzi explained.

They observed that the increasing participation of African central banks and regulators at the summit reflected growing recognition of fintech’s role in driving economic development.

The speakers also called for greater investment in skills development, particularly in artificial intelligence, software engineering and entrepreneurship, to help Africa produce the next generation of global technology leaders.

“The speed at which we organise capacity building is the same speed at which Africa can become the next global business hub,” Rizzi stated.

They further noted that collaboration among fintech firms, telecom operators, banks and policymakers was helping to reduce the cost of digital infrastructure and accelerate innovation across the sector.

The 3i Africa Summit brought together fintech companies, regulators, investors and development institutions to discuss the future of digital finance and inclusive economic growth across Africa.

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The Chief Executive Officer of MobileMoney Fintech Ltd, Shaibu Haruna, has called for stronger consumer protection measures to match the rapid expansion of digital lending and mobile financial services across Africa.

Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit, Haruna said the growth of high-speed digital credit markets presents both significant opportunities and emerging risks, warning that financial inclusion without adequate safeguards could expose consumers to harmful debt cycles.

Delivering a keynote address on “Strengthening Consumer Protection in High-Velocity Credit & Banking Markets,” he noted that digital lending has revolutionised access to finance by allowing millions of previously underserved individuals and small businesses to secure credit within seconds.

According to him, the rise of digital finance has accelerated financial inclusion across the continent, but has also introduced challenges such as over-indebtedness, lack of transparency in loan conditions, and potential bias in data-driven credit scoring systems.

“Digital lending has been a game changer. Millions of people who were previously excluded now have access to credit at unprecedented speed,” he said.

He, however, cautioned that the same systems designed to expand access to finance could become harmful if consumer protection is neglected.

“Without protection, there is no inclusion—and inclusion without protection becomes a trap,” he warned.

Haruna identified transparency, fair pricing, and efficient complaint resolution systems as essential to building trust in digital financial services. He stressed that customers must be provided with clear and simple information on interest rates, penalties, and repayment terms.

The MoMo boss also expressed concern over the increasing use of data-driven credit scoring models, warning that algorithmic bias could unintentionally discriminate against some groups of people.

“As we process large data sets, we must be mindful of biases that may exclude customers based on income levels, location, or behavioural patterns,” he stated.

He further called for stronger collaboration among regulators, fintech companies, and consumers to ensure the responsible growth of the sector.

“Consumer protection is not just a regulator’s responsibility—it is a shared duty across the entire ecosystem,” he said.

Haruna urged regulators to adopt smarter and more adaptive supervisory frameworks instead of relying solely on stricter regulations. He proposed measures including risk-based lending rules, real-time data sharing, and outcome-based supervision to improve oversight in the sector.

At the industry level, he encouraged fintech firms to embrace responsible lending practices, including the introduction of cooling-off periods between loans and the simplification of terms and conditions for customers.

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