United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has reinforced its commitment to deepening collaboration between banks and fintechs across Africa, following the successful hosting of its inaugural Fintech Conference themed “Navigating Regulatory Milestones: The Future of Bank–Fintech Partnerships.”

The conference convened more than 20 leading fintechs and ecosystem stakeholders, including PalmPay, OPay, PayAza, Mastercard, Visa, Nigeria InterBank Settlement System, and representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Discussions focused on regulation, innovation, security, and the evolution of payments across the continent.

Opening the event, UBA’s Executive Director, Digital Banking, Emmanuel Lamptey, called for a shift from competition to deliberate partnership. “The future is not banks versus fintechs, but banks with fintechs. When we combine scale, trust, and regulatory depth with innovation and agility, we unlock a financial system that works for far more Africans.”

From an industry perspective, Peter Ehizogie of Mastercard pointed to Nigeria’s payments evolution as both a catalyst and a caution. “Each wave of innovation—instant payments, cards, gateways, and now AI—has expanded opportunity while introducing new risks. Collaboration is what ensures progress is sustained, not disrupted.” Echoing this, Seyi Ebenezer, the Chief Executive Officer, PayAza, emphasized urgency around ecosystem integration. “Collaboration is no longer optional.

The priority now is speed—how quickly we can remove the barriers between fintechs and banks to unlock scale.” UBA also highlighted its own execution, with Head of Mobile Banking, Gideon Iheama, outlining advancements in Leo, the bank’s AI-powered assistant.

The platform now supports conversational transactions, including transfers of up to N5 million and foreign currency operations, reflecting increased customer adoption and investment in intelligent banking infrastructure. Closing the conference, UBA’s Head of Digital Banking Sales, Shamsideen Fashola, underscored the growing importance of cybersecurity in an AI-driven ecosystem.