{
  "id": 3858004,
  "title": "‘Payment failures threaten trust in fintech sector’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/payment-failures-threaten-trust-in-fintech-sector",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-28T01:16:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/payment-failures-threaten-trust-in-fintech-sector/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Africa's fintech industry is facing potential sustainability challenges due to the rapid expansion and the increasing demands placed on its payment infrastructure. Acting Managing Director/CEO of Belema Fintech, Michael Adesola, warned at the Nigerian Fintech Forum that the next phase of fintech development will depend on the resilience of the underlying infrastructure. He argued that the sector is now facing unprecedented pressures from millions of users, higher transaction volumes, and more complex financial services. Adesola emphasized that payment failures are the biggest threat to trust in digital payments, as customers are only concerned with whether the payment actually occurred, regardless of the underlying issue. He called for fintech companies and infrastructure providers to stress-test their systems, build redundancy into critical services, and enhance interoperability to ensure the stability of the financial system. Adesola stressed that reliability at the last mile should become a central measure of fintech success, noting that a beautiful interface cannot compensate for infrastructure that fails when customers need it most. He argued that the ultimate test of any payment system is not whether a transaction is marked as successful, but whether the funds actually reach the intended recipient. For Belema Fintech, a licensed switching and processing institution in Nigeria, the key is delivering reliable, secure, and on-time digital finance services.",
  "summary": "Africa’s fintech growth could face sustainability challenges unless the infrastructure supporting digital transactions becomes more resilient and reliable, the Acting Managing Director/CEO of Belema Fintech, Michael Adesola, has said. Speaking at the Nigerian Fintech Forum, Adesola challenged stakeholders across the continent’s financial technology ecosystem to look beyond user growth,…",
  "key_points": [
    "Africa's fintech industry faces sustainability challenges",
    "Payment failures threaten customer trust",
    "Reliability at last mile crucial for fintech success"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Fintech companies must prioritize reliable payment infrastructure to maintain trust, as payment failures now pose a significant threat to the sector's sustainability and long-term success.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "‘Payment failures threaten trust in fintech sector’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/payment-failures-threaten-trust-in-fintech-sector-3859503",
        "published": "2026-08-28T01:24:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}