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Why NIBSS picked QR codes as the future of small-value payments
Smartphone manufacturers to pay $1,967 in licence fees in Kenya
Central African Republic launches meme coin, $CAR
World Wide Web 3
Events
Fintech
Why NIBSS picked QR codes as the future of small-value payments
No matter the governor at the helm, Nigeria’s central bank loves the idea of a cashless country. The idea has flowed down to almost all financial institutions, including the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the country’s payments switch. Now, NIBSS wants everyone to think of QR codes when paying for low-value in-person transactions.
But, replacing cash is hard—the alternative must offer instant settlement, security, affordability, and easy reversals. NIBSS believes QR codes meet these criteria: transactions are instant, stickers are cheap to print, and they are secure.
Last week, Premier Owoh, NIBSS CEO, told our fintech reporter, Muktar Oladunmade, that the Lagos State government integrated the Nigeria Quick Response (NQR) into its ERP software and in its first week, over 750,000 bills were paid with QR codes.
Engineers at NIBSS say they have reduced the latency by eliminating separate fee queries and improved the security of QR code payments with stronger authentication measures. Users can only make QR code payments from their banking app, adding an extra layer of security.
The banks are also on the same page with NIBSS. Shamsudeen, a product manager at UBA, was excited to show our reporter how QR code payments work from the bank app. He logged in, selected NIBSS QR on the homepage, scanned a Providus Bank QR code, sent ₦10 ($0.0067), and received a printed receipt. Sterling Bank employees displayed a separate app for QR codes marketed at merchants.
In his article, Muktar Oladunmade argues that the success of QR payments will depend on how efficiently merchants can accept payments safer, faster, and more transparently with QR codes. That way, word-of-mouth marketing will allow QR codes to become ubiquitous. After all, fintechs became widely accepted after they shone during 2023’s cash scarcity. May the superior product win.
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Economy
Smartphone manufacturers to pay $1,967 in licence fees in Kenya
Kenya has introduced a new rule requiring foreign smartphone and car-tracking device companies to pay a $1,937 licence fee to keep selling their products there. A licence will certify these phone-makers and distributors of their products as authentic.
Foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Samsung and Transsion (Tecno and Infinix smartphones), which are the most-used smartphone brands in the country will have to pay $1,937 for a 15-year operating licence, plus 0.4% of their Kenyan yearly sales to the government. While the government argues that this will stop fake products from entering the market, it conveniently excludes local smartphone manufacturers and distributors from the licensing rule.
Kenya may not be an important market for large global smartphone makers like Samsung—compared to the Big 3; South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria, which receive the largest imports—but the licence fee is small and likely won’t stop them from doing business in Kenya.
On the other hand, smaller foreign companies might struggle to afford the fee, reducing the number of affordable phones available in the informal market. Unknown brands control about 9.5% of the Kenyan smartphone market—likely smaller foreign smartphone makers and untried brands trying to establish a market in Kenya. Kenyans buy them because they are cheaper than high-end Samsung phones.
Seeing reduced participation from these untested brands, distributors will focus on the bigger brands, paying the licence fee to become verified vendors. Hence, this will likely cause them to raise prices to cover the cost, making phones more expensive for Kenyans already dealing with high living costs.
Kenya isn’t the first African country to try this. Egypt recently introduced similar taxes on foreign phone companies that don’t manufacture locally. However, for Kenya’s new rule to work, the government will need to enforce it strictly. If they don’t, fake phones might keep flooding the market.
In the end, it’s a balancing act: the move could help improve the quality of phones in Kenya (by taxing name brands to show proof of work) and empower local participation. While it’s a win for a country in search of more ways to widen its tax net without suffering another public drama, it is the end consumer who inadvertently bears the brunt…again.
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Cryptocurrency
Central African Republic launches meme coin, $CAR
The Central African Republic (CAR)—the first and only African country to accept bitcoin as legal tender, has thrown itself deeper into its crypto experiment with the launch of $CAR, a meme coin that puts the country at the centre of a digital currency spectacle.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra launched the token on X (formerly Twitter), calling it an “experiment” in national identity, economic potential, and internet culture. The government is doubling down on digital assets—this time, with a cryptocurrency that trades as much on hype as on substance.
Presently, $CAR appears to be trading on neither hype nor substance. The meme coin has failed to garner any interest from meme coin traders—or its own citizens—with the coin dumping fast. At 19.40 (WAT) on Monday, about 23,559 traders had bought the coin, with 20,330 selling. In the last 24 hours, the coin price dipped by over 90%, shedding off more than nine-tenths of its market cap. The rollout of $CAR also hasn’t been seamless. A dedicated X account for $CAR was suspended almost immediately, forcing the government into damage control.
CAR may be a crypto-friendly nation, but the adoption and level of exposure among its citizens remain low. Economic challenges also push many away from the risky sector, which is surprising, as it contrasts with the reasons high-adoption African countries like Nigeria and Kenya trade cryptocurrency and stablecoins.
CAR’s previous crypto push—making Bitcoin legal tender—struggled with poor infrastructure and regulatory resistance from the regional central bank. In July 2022, CAR suspended the application of its Bitcoin law until the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) could establish regulations for cryptocurrency within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
As one of Africa’s gold and diamond-rich countries, CAR still struggles economically. The President believes that crypto—and wide participation from his people—will change that narrative. Despite Touadéra’s best efforts to aggressively push the meme coin, some risk-averse citizens may be distrustful of the coin. Touadéra’s first uphill task is to convince the sceptics about his vision and not see the $CAR as another token primed for a pump-and-dump.
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CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
Coin Name
Current Value
Day
Month
$98,094
+ 1.07%
+ 3.75%
$2,702
+ 2.53%
– 17.61%
$2.49
+ 3.90%
– 2.18%
$203.85
+ 1.02%
+ 9.82%
* Data as of 05:25 AM WAT, February 11, 2025.
Events
The Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya taking place 12th & 13th Feb 2025 will once again provide unrivaled insight, networking and business opportunities for African and international investors and tech leaders who want to drive growth across the Continent. The event connects 2000+ industry leaders, 1000+ companies, and 160+ speakers via four tracks plus workshops, expo and multiple fantastic networking opportunities. Tickets are on sale now.
Join Africa’s creative innovators, entrepreneurs & leaders at The Omniverse Africa Summit, at Landmark Event Centre, between 25 – 28 Feb 2025. Explore transformative tech, business & sustainable growth. Register now.
GITEX AFRICA 3rd edition is NOW OPEN for registration. Africa’s largest tech and start-up event will be held from 14-16 April 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco. Attend to see the leading brands in tech, and the most innovative startups, and network with tech leaders, investors, speakers and government delegations from across Africa and across the globe. Register here.
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Written by: Muktar Oladunmade, Faith Omoniyi & Emmanuel Nwosu
Edited by: Timi Odueso & Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
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