The rest of the world will turn its attention to Nigeria as the biggest payment card event in Africa, the annual International Conference and Exhibition on Cards and Allied Technologies, referred to as CardExpo 2007, hosts avalanche of global and local card payment brands during the three days event.

Zenith Bank, MTN Nigeria, ATM Consortium, Visa, Valucard and other world-class companies have supported the event through comprehensive sponsorships. The show commences July 9 to 11 at the prestigious Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

With the theme “Bottom of the Pyramid: Reaching the Mass Market,” CardExpo 2007 edition promises to supersede past editions in terms of depth, breadth and participation. Already over 40 companies will be exhibiting cutting-edge technologies for automated teller machines (ATMs) and card services, while about 14 electronic payment (e-payment) authority guests from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Central, East Middle East Africa (CEMEA) will deliver incisive and insightful presentations during the conference programme, which has been expanded into breakout sessions to encourage heart-to-heart interaction.

Notable among these experts who will deliver keynote presentations at the expo are Managing Director of Interswitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, who will speak on “The Future of Card Payment”; Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia will deliver a paper on the “Perspectives on Payment Systems in Nigeria”;

Director General, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Ms. Ifueko Omoigui will give a goodwill message on “Perspectives on Cards and Tax Administration in Nigeria”; while Senior Vice President & Country Director, Nigeria, Mr. Steve Hobbs will present a paper on “Achieving and Sustaining Competitive Advantage in Card Business Consumers Adoption.”

Others include Managing Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, Mr. Paul Lawal, who will lecture on “Perspectives on the Nigeria Payment System"; Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr. Akinsola Akinfemiwa will look at the “Overview of Cards as a Driver for Retail Banking in Nigeria,” and Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Chairperson of Intermarc Consulting will deliver the welcome address.

Specialists who will deliver technical presentations include Olu Akanmu from BankPHB, Nigeria; Mark O’Flyn from Verifone Holdings, United Kingdom; Menya Delmas from Afripayments, Kenya; Caroline Walpole from ACI Worldwide, South Africa; Plet Coormen from Diebold, Geneva among others.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos recently, the Director of CardExpo 2007 and Managing Partner of Intermarc Consulting, Mrs. Onajite Regha, said the objectives of the show was to explore the reality of an invisible market at the bottom of national economic pyramids, “a market of over 60 per cent of any economy, yearning less than $2 a day”. Despite the vastness and potentials of this market, it remains largely untapped because most business executives cannot yet conceive of a market among the poor.

Also present at the press briefing were Managing Director, Intermarc Consulting, Mr. Adeyinka Adeyemi; Managing Director of ATMC, Mr. Noble Ekajeh; Deputy General Manager, Zenith Bank, Ms. Wunmi Ogunbiyi and Head e-Channel, Skye Bank, Mr. Chima Ezirim, among others.

Speaking on expectations at the expo, Regha informed that CardExpo 2007 had been designed to address the issue of how to come up with strategy for the un-banked market in Africa, saying to access the market at the bottom of the pyramid in Africa, “we must use technology to find a way to bank the un-banked and government must use the same platform to ease citizenship payments, particularly for utilities.”

To make this a reality, the show will be parading the latest technologies for ATMs and cards business. These technologies are user-friendly and easily usable by the uneducated public.

The other side of focusing on the mass market at this year’s edition is to attract banks and financial operatives and regulators with the view to generating strategies, which would lead to the deployment of cards and ATMs in a pervasive manner such that the entire citizens can have access to retail banking services in a convenient, cost effective and secure manner.

Aside this objective, she said the primary aim of the expo, which has become an annual international forum, was to bring all key players in the card payment industry together under one roof, in order to promote the spirit of partnership. This partnership, according to her, "will throw up the opportunity of harnessing and enhancing “enormous potentials that are available within the socio economic environment.”

She unveiled names of global card payment companies expected to add zest to the exhibition. They are 52m, Sagem Orga SA Pty, Visa international, Diebold EMEA, and Verifone Holding. The others are Valucard, SecureID, Cardz, e-Transactsolutions, System Specs, Robert-Johnson Technologies, Hadey, Teledom, Ecobank, Skyebank and FCMB.

To attract full participation from the bottom of the pyramid to this year’s edition, the organisers are giving visitors unique opportunity to learn how to optimise their investment in card technology and win valuable prizes through a free raffle draw.

This article was first published on Vanguard.com and is republished here with permission.