Core by Interswitch: Strengthening the Operational Foundations of Africa's Digital Payments Ecosystem.

Nigeria's digital payments ecosystem has reached an important point in its evolution. As financial institutions process growing transaction volumes, responds swiftly to rising customer expectations and navigate an increasingly dynamic regulatory landscape, success is no longer measured solely by the ability to enable digital transactions. Increasingly, it is defined by how consistently those transactions are delivered, securely, seamlessly and at scale.

Much of the conversation around the future of financial services has understandably centred on innovations such as artificial intelligence, embedded finance, cloud-native banking and real-time payments. Yet these technologies represent only one side of the equation. Their true value depends on the operational excellence that supports them every day.

Recognising this, Interswitch, one of Africa's leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, recently convened industry stakeholders at the inaugural edition of Core by Interswitch, a first-of-its-kind breakfast forum created to recognise payments operations professionals while encouraging stronger collaboration across Nigeria's financial services ecosystem.

Held at the Landmark Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, the forum brought together more than 400 participants from Interswitch, microfinance banks, commercial banks, fintechs and other organisations across the financial services ecosystem, with a focus on distinct specialties including; dispute management, settlement and reconciliation, customer support, customer experience, third-party processing and FEP administration/monitoring. More importantly, it created an opportunity to discuss an issue that is becoming increasingly significant across the industry, which is the role of operational excellence in sustaining customer trust and enabling long-term digital transformation.

Digital payments succeed not simply because the technology works, but because organisations build the operational discipline required to support it. Every successful transaction relies on teams that identify issues before customers experience them, resolve exceptions efficiently, maintain system integrity and ensure services remain available when they are needed most. Their work may be largely invisible, but it directly influences reliability, resilience and confidence in digital financial services.

As payment ecosystems become more interconnected, these responsibilities are becoming even more critical. Operational challenges rarely affect one institution in isolation; they often have implications across multiple participants in the payments value chain. This makes collaboration, shared learning and the exchange of practical experience increasingly important, not simply as professional development initiatives, but as strategic enablers of stronger industry performance.

Speaking at the forum, Babafemi Ogungbamila, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Interswitch, said the initiative reflects the company's belief that the future of digital payments depends as much on people and processes as it does on technology. He said:

"Every successful digital transaction is powered by professionals whose work often goes unseen but is fundamental to building trust in digital payments. Core by Interswitch was created to recognise their contribution, strengthen collaboration across the industry and create opportunities for shared learning that ultimately benefit financial institutions and the customers they serve. As digital payments continue to evolve, investing in the people and processes that support the technology is just as important as investing in the technology itself."

One of the forum's most significant contributions was its recognition that operational excellence should no longer be viewed solely as a back-office function. Increasingly, it is becoming a business imperative that shapes customer satisfaction, institutional resilience and competitive performance. In an environment where customers expect every payment to be immediate and error-free, the quality of operational execution has become a defining part of the overall customer experience.

The conversations at Core by Interswitch also reflected a broader shift taking place across financial services. As innovation accelerates, the industry's greatest opportunities will not come from technology alone, but from combining technological advancement with stronger operational capabilities, closer collaboration and continuous improvement across the ecosystem.

Ultimately, the forum demonstrated that digital transformation is about more than adopting new technologies. It is about building institutions capable of delivering those technologies consistently, securely and at scale. By creating a platform that brings payment operations professionals together to exchange ideas, address common challenges and strengthen collaboration, Core by Interswitch is helping to reinforce the operational foundations that will shape the next phase of digital payments across Africa.