African banks may be sitting on payment technology they aren't fully using

On a humid Cape Town afternoon, the hum of a packed hall was punctuated by the soft click of a laptop screen. Jonathan BautistaAsia‑Pacific regional solution director at Swiss‑based BPCleaned over a table of polished mahogany, his eyes reflecting the glow of a projected slide that read simply, “Modernisation does not have to mean replacing an entire platform.” The room, filled with bankers, payments specialists and cybersecurity experts, was already buzzing with the promise of cheaper, faster digital services. Yet the moment Bautista spoke, a quiet realization settled over the audience: African banks could accelerate innovation by getting more out of the payment systems they already own.

The BPC Client Conference 2026, held in Cape Town, became a crucible where the continent’s financial leaders confronted a stark reality. African banks are under mounting pressure to deliver the speed and convenience that customers now expect from digital financial services. Many have already poured significant sums into technology and are branching beyond traditional banking into adjacent digital services. Yet, the conference highlighted that the next leap might not require a costly overhaul of core banking platforms but rather a smarter use of existing payment infrastructure.

In the first nine months of 2025, eight major Nigerian banks generated ₦514.82 billionabout $386.5 millionfrom electronic payments. The following year, six of those banks spent ₦268.7 billionroughly $201.7 millionon IT infrastructure, including core banking upgrades. These figures underscore a paradox: while banks are investing heavily in technology, they may still be under‑leveraging the very systems they purchase. The conference’s data-driven discussions suggested that a more nuanced approach to payment technology could unlock further revenue without the disruption of a full platform replacement.

Bautista explained that a payment, to the customer, appears as a simple approval or rejection. Behind that surface, an issuing platform can evaluate spending limits, fraud risks, customer behaviour, and transaction‑specific rules. These capabilities, when fully harnessed, allow banks to tailor products for distinct customer groups. In a later presentation, he illustrated how existing issuing technology could support specialised corporate, supplier, and procurement cards, with rules adapted to how businesses manage spending. The implication is clear: by refining the rules engine within their current systems, banks can launch new products faster and more efficiently.

“Technology is important, but modernisation should ultimately be driven by business priorities and opportunities,” Bautista said. His words resonated with the audience, many of whom had been grappling with the dilemma of whether to invest in a new platform or optimise the one they already had. The sentiment echoed across the room, from executives at FNB and Capitec to leaders at Standard Bank and Nedbank, all of whom are already expanding into mobile connectivity and other digital services.

Watching the conference unfold, I was struck by the palpable tension between ambition and pragmatism. African banks have long been praised for their rapid adoption of mobile money, yet the same enthusiasm now faces a new challenge: how to make the most of the infrastructure already in place. It feels almost like a second act in a playafter the grand opening, the real test is to sustain momentum without burning out resources.

The conversation at Cape Town offers a clear roadmap: first, audit the capabilities of existing payment platforms; second, align those capabilities with specific business priorities; and third, deploy targeted rule sets that unlock new product lines. If banks follow this path, they could reduce the cost and disruption of platform replacements while still delivering the speed and convenience that modern customers demand. The next few years will likely see a shift from costly overhauls to strategic optimisation, a change that could redefine the competitive landscape of African banking.

In the weeks following the conference, several Nigerian banks announced pilot projects to test rule‑based card products, signalling that the ideas discussed in Cape Town are already moving from theory to practice.