University of Malawi (Unima) Deputy Vice Chancellor Sunduzwayo Madise has asked the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to soften up on the financial requirements for start-up fintechs in the country.
Madise was speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday during the Chiyambi Fintech Series organised by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) under the Digital Financial Services for Resilience (DFS4Res) programme in Malawi.
According to Madise, RBM has one licence regime in which players operating in the payment systems must have at least K50 million as capital.
“I think it is important that we should change the licencing regime, have a licence for those who want to work in the payment system as the banks do, but also allow aggregators and others to be innovate.
“The people who have the innovations are the young people. They don’t have the money. So let’s encourage them to innovate,” Madise said.
The DFS4Res programme, which the UNCDF is implementing in collaboration with the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, seeks to leverage digital financial services (DFS) to enhance the resilience of the Malawian economy.
UNCDF Malawi Country Lead Iris Kissiti observed that the fintech space in Malawi is so nascent that a lot needs to be done.
Kissiti agreed with Madise on the need for authorities to soften up on the capital requirement for fintechs.
“The fintech ecosystem plays a crucial role in financial inclusion, especially for marginalised groups such as youths, rural women, refugees as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
“So by growing the fintech ecosystem, you will find that you have these institutions, the small fintechs, a little smaller than the bank to address niche needs faced by the marginalised groups. They are also able to test different ways of doing things,” Kissiti said.
Speaking during a panel discussion, RBM Policy and Oversight Manager Peter Kambalame said the central bank is putting in place measures to ensure promotion of innovation in the fintech space.
