Digital Resilience Rises as Banking Turns Fully Tech, by Shuaib S. Agaka

Digital Resilience Rises as Banking Turns Fully Tech

By Shuaib S. Agaka

When Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi spoke to senior directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos, his message was not simply about banks adopting more technology. It was about recognising that the financial system has already become a technology system, whether regulators are prepared for that reality or not.

Inuwa, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, was speaking at the CBN Committee of Departmental Directors’ retreat on digital transformation, supervision, innovation and operational resilience. His warning was straightforward. Nigeria can no longer think about financial stability without thinking about digital stability.

That argument deserves attention because the transformation of Nigerian banking is no longer confined to the distinction between traditional banks and fintechs. The business models may differ, the licences may differ, and the customer experiences may differ, but both increasingly depend on the same underlying reality. Banking now runs on software, networks, data, cloud infrastructure, payment systems, cybersecurity and a growing web of technology providers.

The traditional bank has not disappeared. Its branches, employees and balance sheets still matter. What has changed is the infrastructure through which those institutions operate. A customer may interact with a conventional bank through a mobile application, while a fintech may provide an entirely digital experience, but both depend on technology to authenticate customers, process transactions, move information, detect fraud and keep services available. That creates a different kind of risk.

A bank can have sufficient capital and comply with financial regulations and still be unable to serve…