Ecobank remains payment gateway in Africa – Akinwuntan

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has reiterated that the Pan African bank remains the payment gateway for Africa. Akinwuntan who was speaking on the topic “Optimizing sustainable trade, investment and regional economic integration through effective partnerships between ECOWAS institutions and regional institutions and the organized private sector” at a webinar organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to commemorate the 46th anniversary of ECOWAS on Monday, stated that the bank’s state of the art digital payment and collection platform is promoting trade and commerce across the African continent.

According to him, Ecobank is present in all ECOWAS member states, stressing that the bank will continue to leverage its knowledge, footprint, and payment channels to promote trade and economic activities through its unique and large pan-African network that positions it to support businesses at all levels. He noted that “naturally for us as a Pan African bank, we are set up to support the economic integration and development of Africa. We have the commitment, capacity and network to support the realization of that objective. We have a platform that leverages technology which enables businesses within ECOWAS to operate as one market. In terms of payment and collection, we have just one banking platform that serves an entire industry. If you are an individual and you open an account and get our Mobile app, you have access to the 33 countries where we operate, and you can transact across these countries. It is a payment switch that ensures payment without going through SWIFT but ensures instant value across the network.  For businesses, we have Omni platform, which is a web-based payment platform that enables you to first see your position across the 33 countries and make instant payment.”

Earlier in his welcome address, LCCI President, Mrs Toki Mabogunje said the webinar is to explore the opportunities and challenges of economic integration for stakeholders and for ECOWAS member states.