Admin I Tuesday, March 03.26
LAGOS, Nigeria- Verve International, Africa’s leading card scheme and token brand—and a subsidiary of Interswitch Group—successfully hosted the 2026 edition of Verve Biz Unwind at the prestigious Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, convening key stakeholders across the financial services ecosystem for high-level industry engagement.
The event brought together issuer banks, fintech innovators, merchants, payment processors, and strategic partners for a curated forum focused on strategic dialogue, ecosystem alignment, and the evolving future of digital payments in Africa. Designed as an intimate yet impact-driven platform, Verve Biz Unwind continues to serve as a catalyst for meaningful conversations shaping the continent’s rapidly transforming payments landscape.
This year’s edition emphasized the importance of strengthening industry collaboration amid significant shifts in digital commerce. With the accelerating adoption of contactless transactions, embedded finance models, open banking frameworks, and real-time payment capabilities, the need for coordinated innovation and resilient infrastructure has become increasingly urgent. Verve Biz Unwind provided stakeholders with a valuable opportunity to exchange insights, address shared challenges, and identify collaborative pathways toward sustainable, long-term growth.
A defining highlight of the event was the official unveiling of Verve Tokenization, a next-generation security solution engineered to enhance transaction integrity, accelerate digital commerce adoption, and future-proof Africa’s payments ecosystem.
A defining highlight of the event was the official unveiling of Verve Tokenization, a next-generation security solution engineered to strengthen transaction integrity, accelerate digital commerce adoption, and future-proof Africa’s payments ecosystem.
Verve Tokenization replaces sensitive cardholder data with secure, device-bound digital tokens, ensuring that every transaction generates a unique cryptogram. By eliminating the need to expose actual card details during transactions, the solution significantly reduces the risk of fraud and data breaches, while enabling seamless and consistent payment experiences across multiple digital channels.
Speaking on this year’s edition, Paul Ohakim, Vice President, Issuing & Acquiring (Africa) at Verve International, underscored the critical role of collaboration in shaping the continent’s payments future. He noted that as digital commerce accelerates, driven by contactless innovations, embedded finance models, open banking frameworks, and rising demand for real-time transactions, no single institution can independently define or sustain the next phase of industry evolution.
He emphasized that Verve Biz Unwind was intentionally designed to foster stronger alignment among traditional financial institutions, fintech innovators, merchants, and payment processors in delivering secure, seamless, and inclusive payment experiences at scale. According to him, strategic partnerships remain fundamental to achieving long-term progress and effectively responding to the evolving needs of consumers and businesses across Africa.
“As digital commerce accelerates, no single institution can shape the future of payments alone,” he said. “Stronger collaboration between banks, fintechs, merchants, and processors is essential to delivering secure, seamless, and inclusive payment experiences across Africa.”
He further noted that tokenization represents far more than a backend technology upgrade; it signals a structural shift in how payments are secured, experienced, and monetized. “By enabling interoperability across wallets, banking apps, e-commerce checkouts, and contactless infrastructure, Verve Tokenization empowers a single Verve card to operate securely across multiple digital environments without compromising user convenience.”
Beyond networking, the event reaffirmed Verve International’s long-standing commitment to deepening ecosystem partnerships and advancing collective progress across the payments value chain. Through structured engagements and forward-looking discussions, participants aligned on a shared roadmap focused on elevating security standards, strengthening interoperability, and delivering customer-centric payment solutions at scale.
As Africa’s digital economy continues to expand and consumer expectations evolve toward faster, safer, and more intuitive experiences, Verve International remains steadfast in its mission to modernize the continent’s payment infrastructure securely, intelligently, and collaboratively, while enabling partners to unlock sustainable growth and long-term value.
Best Regards,
