BD Insider 171: What next for Nigerian fintechs given new FX and USD push by banks?

Last week Friday, Wema Bank announced an increase in the naira card spending limits on international transactions to $500. Similarly, two weeks ago, the news about GTCO's—the parent company of GTBank—FX platform that helps to convert USD to naira at the unified exchange rate (which is more aligned with black market rates) went viral.

Slowly, we expect more Nigerian banks to leverage the updated CBN FX regulatory disposition to build products that help them regain many of their former customers who have sort an alternative in fintechs.

As such, many observers and residents ask what is next for fintechs—who purportedly are built on the arbitrage opportunity from FX demand and spend.

While fintech adoption might have skyrocketed via virtual dollar cards—as a product alternative to make international payments—it wasn't born out of that.

Fintechs make traditional financial services more accessible. They leverage their nimbleness to bring innovation to an institution, banks, older than a century.