The Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of OPay, Dotun Daniel Adekunle, has urged fintech companies to pivot their strategies from chasing transaction numbers to improving the actual financial well-being of their users.
Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural BusinessDay Fintech Summit 2026, held on 22 April 2026, in Lagos, Adekunle argued that the industry has successfully crossed the hurdle of basic digital payments.
“Payments are no longer the problem we need to solve. The real opportunity now is building intelligent systems that understand users, support better decisions, and improve financial outcomes,” Adekunle stated.
The summit, themed “The Next Financial Frontier: Intelligence, Infrastructure & Inclusion in Africa’s Digital Money Economy”, served as a platform for OPay to challenge the status quo. Adekunle noted that while payment access has improved across Africa, the next phase of growth must be measured by “transformation” rather than just “activity”.
“At OPay, we are focused on using data and technology to move from enabling transactions to enabling real transformation. The next frontier is different; it is about measurable impact, such as financial health and user empowerment,” he noted.
Reinforcing this vision, OPay’s Head of IT Business Support and Operations, Ibukun Humphrey Oluwagbenga, contributed to a high-level panel discussing the role of artificial intelligence and automation in modern banking. He explained that “intelligent finance” is the tool that will allow fintechs to move past being mere utilities.
“We are leveraging data, automation, and advanced technologies to improve service delivery, strengthen fraud prevention, and create more personalised financial experiences and smart solutions for customers and businesses,” Oluwagbenga shared during the session.
As the headline sponsor of the summit, OPay’s leadership emphasised that the future of Africa’s digital economy rests on three pillars: intelligence, infrastructure, and inclusion. The company, which has been a dominant force in Nigeria since 2018, believes that the infrastructure for moving money is now mature enough to support more complex value-added services.
The OPay COO concluded by reiterating that the industry’s success in 2026 and beyond will be defined by how much “value” is created for the average African, rather than the trillions of Naira processed through their pipes.
“The real opportunity now lies in using data, intelligence, and strong infrastructure to drive financial progress for users and create long-term value,” Adekunle added.
