The Problems of QR Payment Adoption in Nigeria
In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 80% financial inclusion goal in the year 2020 (though it was far from being achieved), many new players dabbled into the finance industry bringing new ideas and tools to bridge the gap in the industry.
Before the CBN’s financial-inclusion gameplan came to the fore, Nigerians primarily depended on traditional banks (DMBs) for all their financial transactions, with only a few FinTechs side-competing with Banks — though with limited reach.
When the CBN’s Financial-inclusion announcement came, however, it paved way for the existing FinTechs in Nigeria like Interswitch and Unified Payments as well as the new players (then) — Paystack and Flutterwave — to leverage their advanced and robust technological infrastructure to deepen financial inclusion across the nation.
The fierce competition strategies these new players in the finance space brought about new payment methods like: QR (Quick Response) payment, Bluetooth payment, USSD payment, Mobile payment, and a host of other fast and seamless payment methods.
Out of all of these payment methods, however, QR payment would have been the best payment method for both individuals and businesses, but it has its fundamental issues which impeded its nationwide acceptance in Nigeria.
3 problems facing QR payments in Nigeria today:
- It Doesn’t Have Much Use Cases: QR doesn’t have much use cases in Nigeria other than it being used for payment. And as a matter of fact, the places where it’s being accepted as a payment method are a few high-brow places, limiting its marketability.
- It is consumer-led, not merchant-led: Not until recently that the Central Bank of Nigeria adjusted the QR Code Framework procedure, allowing both merchants and consumers to pay via QR codes, it’s only customers that can pay via QR, meaning if a merchant doesn’t have it and there are other non-fast payment methods, customers may choose not to go ahead with the transaction.
- It Doesn’t Generate Physical Receipts: Here in Nigeria, physical receipts after every transaction boost trust. Without the generation or issuance of a physical receipt at any point of sale, trust is broken, and this may have a ripple effect on the credibility of the business in question.
Now, can all these problems be surmounted? Yes, they can. How? The number of companies exploring new ways of getting paid by their customers will have to address these attendant problems as well as deploy new technologies that will ensure these problems are fixed.
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