From Lagos to the World: the Future of African Payments | Tayo Oviosu at Sui Miami 2026

Tayo Oviosu, CEO of Paga, opened with a personal story of a friend in Lagos who needed emergency medical care but was denied admission until cash was paid, illustrating Africa's financial access problem. He said Nigerians spend an average of six weeks a year paying bills in person and in cash, and cross-border payments take three to five days with 6.4% fees, double the global average. He highlighted Africa's 1.4 billion people, projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, with 60% under 25 and 57% of adults unbanked. Oviosu described Paga's mission to serve one billion people, processing $1.5 billion monthly and $42 billion since inception. He identified four structural gaps: currency instability, locked-out global commerce, broken cross-border payments, and financial access stopping at borders. He announced a partnership with Swift and Sui to offer high-yield US dollar accounts, crypto on/off ramps, tokenized real-world assets, and global rails, aiming to tear down these walls.

Key takeaways

1. Paga processes $1.5 billion monthly and $42 billion since inception, with 653 million transactions.
2. Paga is partnering with Swift and Sui to build four products: US dollar yield accounts, crypto on/off ramps, tokenized RWAs, and global rails.
3. Africans spend an average of six weeks a year paying bills in cash, and cross-border fees are 6.4%, double the global average.
4. Africa will have 2.5 billion people by 2050, with 40% of all young people on Earth being African.
5. 57% of African adults lack a bank account, making it the largest financial greenfield market.

Numbers and commitments