Nigerian Fintech Nearpays Wins Global AI for Good Innovation Award
Nigerian fintech Nearpays has become the first African startup to win the AI for Good Innovation Factory grand finale organized by the International Telecommunication Union. Coming in the first place, the company beat more than 500 applicants from countries around the globe.
By introducing a mobile payment infrastructure, Nearpays aims at helping African merchants position themselves better as places where customers can make contactless payments with Android smartphones. Its SoftPOS platform essentially transforms every compatible gadget into a point of sale by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to handle payments and authorize transactions while eliminating the need for hardware normally associated with conventional point-of-sale (POS) systems.
The new technology enables AI to perform payment processing, regulatory compliance, anti-fraud checks, and other operations at the core of traditional POS devices with none of them serving as an add-on component.
The achievement comes at a time when Nigeria is ranked highest in Africa on the UNESCO Government AI Readiness Index, with homegrown fintech startups Paystack and others also making inroads in the application of AI such as in the development of AI-based checkout agents and a national AI regulation bill.
Nearpays’ new approach to a mobile payment infrastructure removes the cost and complexities of using dedicated hardware at the point of sale, which can be a big advantage to businesses with small margins. The victory in the international competition also demonstrates the rise of African fintechs in the space of innovative AI applications.
