In Nigeria’s pursuit of enhancing cybersecurity, managing director of RoutePay, Abayomi Olomu advocated for industry-wide collaboration in the financial technology sector to tackle the significant costs associated with implementing solutions.
Olomu stressed the importance of conducive policies and regulations that promote collaboration among industry stakeholders to combat criminal activities, emphasising the necessity for a knowledge-driven approach to develop innovative methods to combat these threats.
Recognising initiatives like the sanction list, which mandates all industry participants to contribute, the RoutePay MD called for a well-defined process powered by technology to combat cybercrimes. “The CBN emphasises system interoperability. Regulators are actively involved. Everyone is required to contribute to the sanction list, which includes the names of blacklisted merchants. Submitting these names is mandatory,” he stated.
He suggests that a central database of records could prevent businesses from engaging with blacklisted merchants. “We must adopt a technology-oriented approach to reporting and resolving these issues. Collaboration should be structured to effectively combat fraud. While WhatsApp groups among industry players are crucial, we need to move beyond informal associations to combat cybercrime.
“Collaboration is key. Partnerships must be leveraged. Systems should not operate in isolation. Enhanced collaboration is essential, necessitating a centralised database to provide reports on blacklisted merchants.”
He also underscored the importance of a collective financial technology session to address this issue, highlighting the need for service providers to promote the use of a shared database.
RoutePay offers solutions that streamline payment processes. Their omni-channel products and services are accessible across various payment channels, including web, mobile, POS, ATM and USSD.
Olomu emphasised the critical role of Artificial Intelligence in fintech, given the industry’s transaction volume, asserting that AI is indispensable for system stability. He advocates for validation checks as transaction volumes increase, emphasising the importance of partnerships.
In balancing robust cybersecurity measures with a seamless user experience, he mentions that RoutePay simplifies requirements based on technology. “We utilise existing records linked to databases, cross-referencing this information within our systems.”
Detailing RoutePay’s fraud control process, he explained, “We first gather records, then validate the information.” However, he acknowledged the costs associated with information validation.
“We cater to two customer categories – individuals and corporations. Understanding our customers is crucial. While everyone possesses an identity – BVN, NIN – we verify this information through various sources. Our technology corroborates claims made by customers. Our system monitors data changes over time, encompassing end-to-end business activities. We offer solutions that track transaction details like frequency, size and origin.”
Regarding efforts to mitigate cybercrime, he proposes a tech-driven risk framework categorising customers as high, medium, or low risk, determining transaction limits based on risk profiles.
“This framework should oversee transaction volume, frequency, value and identify anomalies,” he concluded.
