Follow Us on Google
By Izunna Nkwachukwu
Gemsbok Technologies has unveiled a secure, multi-rail cross-border payment platform, Gemsbok Transfer, designed to reduce fraud, protect businesses against financial losses and facilitate international trade.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gemsbok Technologies, Charles Awuzie, said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Lagos, adding that Gemsbok Transfer would be operated in partnership with Zenith Bank to provide a trusted channel for international transactions while helping Nigerian businesses access payment and collection facilities in other African and global markets.
Awuzie also said the innovation was developed in response to recurring cases of fraudulent transactions, delayed payments, and financial losses experienced by businesses dealing with suppliers and customers across international borders.
The Gemsbok CEO stated that the company’s experience in blockchain forensics and investigations into lost digital assets has exposed vulnerabilities associated with informal, weak, or fraudulent cross-border payment arrangements.
Awuzie said such experiences reinforced the need for a payment system that restored control, security, and transparency to international transactions.
He explained that Gemsbok Transfer operated as a payment orchestrator, connecting different payment rails through partnerships with licensed financial institutions.
The CEO noted that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presented opportunities for Nigerian businesses to explore new markets, but efficient payment infrastructure remained essential to translating those opportunities into actual trade.
“Businesses can use the platform to access collection facilities in countries. This could particularly benefit small and medium-sized enterprises with limited resources to establish operations in other African countries,” he said.
Awuzie added that transactions conducted through the platform would be insured to provide additional protection against fraud.
He explained that customers who experienced fraudulent transactions would be eligible for compensation where their claims met the conditions stipulated in the insurance policy.
He revealed that the company had established the Gemsbok Transfer Transparency Board to strengthen accountability and promote confidence in the platform.
Dr Mayor Chikwe said the platform was a timely response to the financial risks associated with international transactions, noting that the absence of trusted payment channels could expose businesses to significant financial losses.
Chikwe said a single fraudulent transaction could wipe out the gains accumulated over several months or years of business operations.
Arstrong Amobi explained, with practical experiences, how people they know have been defrauded of thousands and millions of dollars, and how businesses have been ruined by weak and fradulant cross-border payment platforms, and also how they have helped to track and recover some of those funds.
A representative of Zenith Bank, Dr Chibuzor Onwuzuruike, said the bank was supporting Gemsbok Transfer through its banking infrastructure and payment systems.
Onwuzurike said the bank’s involvement followed the necessary management approvals, adding that its technology, personnel, and electronic payment infrastructure would support the platform’s operations.
