Interswitch Advocates Strong Corporate Governance for Businesses

Agnes Ekebuike

Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, has emphasised the imperative for strategic regulatory engagement and partnership for African technology players who desire to scale their operations effectively across the continent.

Speaking at an AFN Webinar to commemorate World Fintech Day, themed: ‘Mapping the Path for Fintech License Passporting in Africa’, Interswitch Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe, shared extensive insights and learnings from Interswitch’s journey from nascent player to pan-African fintech and payments champion operating across multiple regions of the continent. 

The core premise of the initiative by the AFN is that a mutually recognised licensing framework will accelerate innovation, streamline compliance, and enhance regional collaboration, contributing to boosting intra-African trade and financial inclusion. It is believed, as evidenced in other jurisdictions, that reducing regulatory friction and duplicative licensing burdens, fintech and digital finance firms can scale faster, improve operational efficiency, and focus on delivering inclusive, market-driven solutions across borders.

Elegbe was tasked to share his perspective based on experiences with licensing and regulations given Interswitch’s operations in multiple countries. According to him, Interswitch Group operates with multiple distinct licenses from regulators across jurisdictions like Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Gambia and Mauritius with each respective license application accompanied by distinct licensing procedures, application processes and expiration dates.

According to him, “We are therefore often tasked with managing the expectations of our partners during the period between the expiration date and the renewal date about our status to operate. Also, there is the challenge of overlapping regulations as fintechs in many countries in Africa are regulated by multiple bodies such as Central Banks and Telecom Regulators, which leads to duplicated licensing processes, conflicting compliance requirements and delays in approvals.”