In a resounding acknowledgment of his exceptional leadership and outstanding contributions to the financial technology sector, Dr. Agada Apochi, the Managing Director of Unified Payments, has been honored with the “Payment Industry Legend Award” by the Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH).“The Payment Industry Legend Award” is a testament to Dr. Apochi’s exceptional achievements and leadership in transforming the payment landscape. CeBIH, known for its commitment to recognizing excellence, selected Dr. Apochi for his unparalleled contributions that have significantly shaped and advanced the financial technology landscape in Nigeria.
Under Apochi’s visionary guidance, Unified Payments has achieved remarkable milestones, including pioneering the issuance and acceptance of EMV Chip+PIN cards in Nigeria, which led to a reduction of card fraud in Nigeria by over 95%, enabled Nigerian banks to issue first-ever payment cards to Naira account holders for use globally. The company introduced the first-ever acceptance of foreign cards at ATMs, a joint acquiring company for Nigerian banks. The company was also the first, EMV third party processor in Nigeria, first processor in Sub-Saharan Africa to process payment or withdrawal with just phone number. First Nigerian principal member of a global payment scheme. Unified Payments also pioneered multi-bank mobile application and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) and the use of telephone numbers as digital account numbers. Just to mention a few among several feats achieved by Apochi over the years.
His strategic vision and commitment to excellence have not only propelled Unified Payments to new heights but have also positively impacted the broader financial technology industry in Nigeria.
Unified Payments, under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Apochi, has played a pivotal role in shaping the financial technology sector in Nigeria.
The company’s initiatives, such as the launch of the Payattitude multi-bank App, Payattitude USSD Code *569#, Pay-with-phone-number, Payarena, and Hope PSBank, a digital bank with focus on financial inclusion have not only set benchmarks for excellence but have also contributed significantly to the growth and development of electronic transactions and payments in the country.
Dr. Agada Apochi, receiving the award had this to say “I am deeply honored to receive the ‘”Payment Industry Legend Award” from CeBIH. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Unified Payments team. Be assured that we remain committed to driving innovation and excellence in the financial technology space.”
Celestina Appeal, Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) added, “CeBIH is proud to honor Dr. Agada Apochi for his exemplary contribution to the payment industry. His visionary leadership has set a standard of excellence that inspires the entire e-business community in Nigeria and Africa.
Unified Payment Services Limited is Nigeria’s premier financial technology service provider, with a group of companies in Financial Technology, Payment Scheme (Payattitude) Banking (Hope PSBank), Digital Commerce, Value Added Service, Payment Solutions (Payarena) and Software Solutions (TM30).
