Access Bank launches Tap to Phone in Nigeria

The race for contactless payments in Nigeria is heating up, with key players positioning themselves to crack this form of payment. While not new, contactless payments have long been a sleeper innovation in the country, held back by a lack of infrastructure, customer awareness, and adoption.

Access Bank, Nigeria's largest bank by assets, has launched a Tap to Phone solution to expose the average Nigerian to contactless payments. Tap to Phone uses software point-of-sale (softPOS) technology, where merchants download an app and use their smartphones as POS terminals. With a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled card, customers can withdraw by simply bringing their cards near the smartphone without needing to slot them in.

This isn’t Access Bank’s first foray into contactless payments. It previously launched QR code capture payment technology, where users scan pre-generated QR codes to pay for goods and services. However, the bank hasn’t disclosed transaction numbers or how that technology is performing. With softPOS, Access Bank joins existing players like Kuda softPOS, which provides tap to phone functionalities in its business banking suite.

Fintech rivals Moniepoint and PalmPay are also pushing contactless payments. Moniepoint partnered with AfriGO to introduce cards, while PalmPay teamed up with CashAfrica, a Nigerian contactless payments infrastructure provider, to launch payment terminals. This hyper-activity reflects a belief that contactless payments are the future.

While infrastructural blockers are solvable, a deeper psychological block around security remains. How can users maintain control of their financial access if they lose their phones or cards? The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced daily cumulative limits capped at ?50,000 ($33) to prevent heavy losses in cases of theft. However, building security-first solutions is crucial. In countries where contactless payments are entrenched, authorisation is key. Although providing authorised access to every payment is less user-friendly, it is efficient. Yet, the next will be making authorisation overrides difficult in those cases of theft.

With the country’s biggest bank throwing its hat in the race for contactless payment adoption, one needs no telling that contactless payments may be about to take off in Africa’s biggest economy.