DevOps engineer Akande Adedayo has urged Nigerian fintech companies to prioritise system stability over rapid user growth, as recurring service failures continue to frustrate customers across the country.
- +Fintechs’ focus on speed is undermining reliability – DevOps engineer
Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics, Adedayo said the prevailing “speed over stability” culture is largely responsible for frequent transaction failures, particularly during peak usage periods.
Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics, Adedayo said the prevailing “speed over stability” culture is largely responsible for frequent transaction failures, particularly during peak usage periods.
He noted that many platforms scale aggressively without building the technical capacity required to support growth.
Customers have repeatedly complained about failed transfers, downtime, and unreliable banking channels, especially during public holidays and salary payment cycles. These issues, affecting ATMs, mobile apps, and PoS terminals, are often linked to server overload, outdated infrastructure, and weak network performance.
Adedayo explained that many fintech startups prioritise onboarding thousands of users quickly without establishing a strong backend infrastructure.
He added that peak traffic events, such as salary payments or holidays, often overwhelm systems when thousands of users attempt to access services simultaneously, causing database strain and application slowdowns.
He recommended adopting microservices architecture, implementing retry logic, and using database connection pooling to ensure resilience and prevent system-wide crashes.
Adedayo also highlighted broader infrastructure challenges facing Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, particularly reliance on foreign cloud services.
Nigerian firms are estimated to spend about $850 million annually on foreign cloud infrastructure. He noted that local data centres are not yet viable due to unstable electricity supply and high diesel costs.
He further addressed cybersecurity risks, noting that threats often originate internally rather than from external hackers.
He stressed the need for strict access controls and regular staff training on security awareness.
Adedayo also emphasised the importance of encryption, firewalls, and secure environments in protecting payment systems from breaches.
Results from a recent CBN survey signals a shift from viewing fintech as a disruptive force to recognising its foundational role in payments, lending, data, and identity systems across the economy.
The report’s insights stem from stakeholder surveys, closed-door workshops, and roundtables with fintech operators.
Respondents noted widespread use of AI in fraud detection and credit scoring, with real-time payments infrastructure seen as a national strength and global model.
Adedayo maintained that the solution is straightforward: build stronger systems, optimise infrastructure, and stop prioritising rapid expansion over reliability.
