By Prince Osuagwu, Hi-Tech Editor

Managing Director of RoutePay, Abayomi Olomu, has called for industry-wide collaboration to salvage the fintech sector from the scourge of cybercrime.

Olomu said the huge cost of deploying solutions to check the menace would make it impossible for individual companies to cope, and advocated a joint effort to tame the tide.

He also spoke of the need for enabling policies and regulations that can drive collaboration among players in the industry to curb criminals’ activities suggesting that players should put on a knowledge cap aimed at finding new ways of fighting the scourge.

 Acknowledging efforts such as the sanction list that all industry players are expected to contribute to, the RoutePay MD seeks a well -defined process driven by technology to fight cybercrimes.  “The CBN insists on the interoperability of the systems. The regulators are making efforts. Everyone is expected to contribute to the sanction list- that is, the name of any blacklisted merchant. It is an obligation to submit these names,’’ he said.

To him, a central database of records will prevent businesses from un-boarding blacklisted merchants. “We need a tech-driven approach to reporting and solving the problem. It should be a well-defined system of collaboration capable of fighting fraud. Yes, WhatsApp groups of industry players are essential, we must go beyond informal relationships to fight cybercrime.

“The name of the game is collaboration. There is a need to leverage on partnership. Systems should not run in silos. The level of collaboration needs to be improved and that’s why we need a centralised database to supply report on blacklisted merchants.’’

He also emphasised the need for a joint session on fintech to discuss the issue, noting that Service providers should encourage the use of common database.

RoutePay provides solutions that enhance the ease of payments and collections. Its products and services are omnichannel and available across all channels of payments including, web, mobile, POS, ATM, and USSD.

Olomu noted that Artificial Intelligence is critical in fintech now due to the volume of transactions in the industry, adding that without AI, the system will collapse. He however advocated some validation checks as businesses grow their volume, harping on the need for partnership.