7 Takeaways On Future Of Cross-Border Payment, Nigeria

At our Smart Banking Summit, industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of cross-border payments in Nigeria. The panel, which featured Moore Dagogo-Hart, CTO, Zap Africa; Chimezie Chuta of the National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee, NITDA; Ademola Idowu, Group Head of Operations, Channels Management & International Trade Services at First City Monument Bank Limited, and Dr Austin Okpagu, Verto Nigeria’s Country Director, explored how crypto and fintech are addressing the challenges posed by Naira volatility and traditional banking limitations.

Here are seven key takeaways from that conversation:

1. Crypto Transactions Cost Pennies; Traditional Banking Costs Thousands

Moore Dagogo-Hart shared a striking example: last year, someone transferred $2.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency and paid just two cents in transaction fees. The same transfer through traditional banking would have taken days and cost thousands of dollars.

“An average crypto transaction costs about one cent,” Dagogo-Hart explained. “What makes traditional transactions expensive is the number of middlemen. Everyone takes a cut. With crypto, there’s just one ‘middleman’: mathematics and computers.”

Even Bitcoin, known for higher fees, averages around $3 per transaction. Stablecoins on newer blockchains cost under 10 cents. Zap Africa, where Dagogo-Hart serves as CTO, built the infrastructure powering Zap Africa’s crypto exchange, which has processed over $17 million in transactions to date.

2. Nigerian Businesses Are Losing 6-12 Per Cent on Every Cross-Border Payment

Dr Austin Okpagu highlighted the hidden costs of cross-border transactions. Traditional bank transfers take three to five days to settle, during which businesses can lose 6-7% of transaction value due to currency fluctuations alone.

A McKinsey study found that African businesses lose around 6% in fees on cross-border payments,  often exceeding their profit margins. “For African SMEs, that’s huge,” Okpagu said. “Many don’t even make 6 per cent profit margins.”

With the Naira’s recent volatility, where it gains or loses ₦10 to 15 in value within 24 hours, these losses compound quickly.

3. Speed Has Transformed: From Days To Seconds

Blockchain innovation has dramatically improved transaction speed. Bitcoin transactions, which once took 10 minutes to confirm, now happen almost instantly through solutions like the Lightning Network. Stablecoins settle in seconds for under 10 cents in fees. “You can now settle transactions instantly using crypto. This is something traditional finance systems haven’t quite figured out,” Dagogo-Hart noted.

Okpagu added that fintech solutions are giving businesses tools to respond to market changes in real time. This is critical when currency values shift rapidly. “Traditional banking systems just aren’t designed for 24-hour, cross-time-zone operations,” he said.

4. Access Only Requires Internet — No Banks, No Paperwork

One of crypto’s biggest advantages is accessibility. While traditional banking requires accounts, paperwork, and business registrations across multiple countries, crypto transactions only require an internet connection. “To use crypto, all you need is an internet connection, which almost everyone has,” Dagogo-Hart said. “That automatically increases access and makes it easier for anyone, anywhere, to participate.”

Nigerian start-ups have built increasingly user-friendly platforms that make sending and receiving payments as simple as messaging, removing the technical barriers that once made crypto intimidating.

5. Tax Authorities Face Data And Knowledge Problem

Despite technological progress, regulatory uncertainty remains a barrier. Chimezie Chuta acknowledged that while Nigeria passed the Digital Investment Act recognising crypto assets, many platforms remain blocked. “We’ve moved from a chaotic ecosystem to a more theoretical one,” Chuta said. “But we need to move beyond theory into real adoption.”

From a tax perspective, Ademola Idowu noted that most African tax laws predate digital assets. “You can’t effectively tax what you don’t understand,” he said, pointing to ongoing questions about how crypto should be classified and taxed.

The knowledge gap extends to tax authorities themselves. “Many tax authorities are still trying to understand how digital assets actually work,” Idowu added. “Education and capacity building are major hurdles.”

6. Multi-Currency Wallets Help Businesses Hedge Against Volatility

Dr Okpagu explained how fintech platforms are helping businesses manage Naira volatility through multi-currency solutions. Verto’s platform, for instance, supports over 50 currencies, allowing Nigerian businesses to diversify their holdings. “Instead of keeping everything in Naira, businesses can hold balances in USD, GBP, KES, and other currencies,” Okpagu said. This hedging strategy protects companies from daily currency swings.

The platform also eliminates unnecessary conversions. “Why should a Nigerian business convert Naira to USD before paying a supplier in Ghana or Kenya?” Okpagu asked. “Every conversion step leads to more loss.” With modern fintech solutions, businesses can pay suppliers directly in their local currency without multiple conversion fees.

7. Policy Inconsistency Is Stifling Long-Term Innovation

Beyond regulatory gaps, Nigeria faces a deeper challenge: policy inconsistency across administrations. Chimezie Chuta explained that the National Blockchain Policy, adopted in 2022, was meant to provide clarity and direction for blockchain adoption. “The goal was to build trust, acknowledge the technology’s existence, and provide guidance,” Chuta said. “But policy consistency can be a challenge in Nigeria. When a new administration comes in, ongoing initiatives are sometimes deprioritised or abandoned.”

This stop-start approach hurts innovators most. “The people who lose the most are Nigerians trying to innovate early in this space,” he noted. Despite progress with the Digital Investment Act recognising crypto assets, many licensed platforms remain blocked, creating confusion about what’s actually permitted. “We’ve moved from a chaotic ecosystem to a more theoretical one,” Chuta said. “But we need to move beyond theory into real adoption, and that requires consistent policy direction.”

As Nigeria’s businesses navigate currency instability and expensive cross-border payments, the panellists agreed: crypto and fintech offer practical solutions to real problems. The question now is, can regulation play catch-up to innovation, or continue to hold it back?