Nigerian digital payments and Commerce Company, Interswitch Group, honored one of its founders, Charles Ifedi, on Friday, January 19th, 2017 in a send-forth ceremony. Mr. Charles Ifedi is the outgoing Chief Executive Officer of Verve International, one of Interswitch Group’s subsidiaries.

Speaking at the event organized to celebrate Mr. Ifedi, Interswitch Founder and C.E.O., Mitchell Elegbe had this to say about him:

“We have come a long way since establishing Interswitch in 2002 and many of our successes can be attributed to Charles and his team and we cannot thank them enough for that.”

The event was held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos and witnessed the presence of top Nigerian financial services executives.

Charles Ifedi was a pioneer management team member of Interswitch Group and led the consumer satisfaction aspect of the business. A graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, Charles Ifedi was appointed as C.E.O. of Verve International in 2013, when the Interswitch Group gave autonomy to Verve International.

Under his leadership, Verve International became the biggest brand in the Nigerian payment card market. It pioneered the eventual exodus of the Nigerian financial sector from an archaic way of conducting financial transactions to a more digital way of payment. He also steered the company into a partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS), a partnership that has assisted Nigerians to use their Verve cards in 185 countries.

Verve International’s launch in Kenya, one of Africa’s biggest market for fintech solutions was also supervised by Charles, placing Verve International as a key digital payments company in Africa also.

His replacement is Mike Ogbalu III, whose position prior to Verve International was Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Financial Inclusion Service (IFIS). He brings with him a bag of experience, having spearheaded many campaigns in IFIS. The IFIS, also known as the Quickteller Paypoint, aims to make the banking experience easier and easily accessible for the people who don’t have easy, or any access to financial services typically offered by commercial banks.

Interswitch Group C.E.O. Mitchel Elegbe had this to say about Mike Ogbalu II:

“…we are very confident in the future of Verve and Interswitch as a group with Mike Ogbalu III stepping in. His drive and passion for innovation and operational excellence is an asset that will help strategically steer Verve along the right paths for future”

Mr Ogbalu will to continue to pioneer new ground for more fintech solutions through Verve International, especially in card services around Nigeria, and in Africa.