“So we thought about that, okay, this is a gap that needs to be fixed. So we built the bridge by partnering with some, you know, licensed trustees, some SEC licensed trustees that help people to actually, you know, invest their money, right, manage their portfolio”.
He said Payaza identified the challenge faced by investors who were interested in the offer but could not participate because they did not have a BVN.
“A lot of people in the diaspora were actually interested and they’ve been talking about it. People are excited about it. They want to participate. But at some point, a lot of people realized that if you don’t have a BVN, you actually cannot invest in the Dangote IPO”.
Ashiru explained that Payaza’s role is primarily to facilitate payments, allowing investors to send funds in their preferred currency while the company converts and settles the funds with the licensed trustees in naira.
“You can send in the money from any currency of your choice. We convert the money and we settle these trustees or trustee houses, right, in Naira because, I mean, the whole IPO thing is in Naira”.
He stressed that Payaza does not invest on behalf of customers or hold their funds, but instead facilitates the movement of money to the licensed trustees.
“We don’t invest for anybody. We don’t keep anybody’s money. All we do is to just move money from one end to the other end”.
Ashiru added that the licensed trustees are responsible for managing investors’ portfolios and processing dividends or proceeds from share sales when applicable.
“They help you invest your money, manage your portfolio, and at the points where maybe some of these investments are mature, they also help you process your dividend or your share sale value”.
On the selection of trustees, Ashiru said Payaza only works with regulated entities as part of measures to protect investors.
“We cannot be dealing with someone that is not regulated. And that’s like the main reason behind the whole thing. They are there to actually protect these investors, to make sure that your funds are properly invested”.
Ashiru said Payaza’s cross-border payment infrastructure allows investors in different countries to make payments in their local currencies before the funds are settled with the relevant licensed entities.
“So we can receive payments in all of those countries in their local currency. And then we can settle it to help them invest. I mean, we don’t help them invest. We move it to the people that are licensed to help them invest”.
Ashiru described the Dangote IPO as a major investment opportunity and said Payaza’s role was to make cross-border payments easier for investors seeking to participate.
“It’s one of the biggest investment opportunities that has come out of Africa. And we as a payment company, it’s part of our own responsibility to make sure that we kind of facilitate any payment from any region seamlessly and help people invest across different, I mean, from different countries to also participate in the entire IPO investment”.
Goodness Anunobi
