The dominant narrative within the literature on the history and evolution of financial technology (fintech) is inordinately Western-centric as it is centred around the experience in Europe and the United States. This article proposes a nuanced approach to analysing the history of fintech beyond the perspectives of developed countries. It explores the application of technology to finance within the context of the prevailing socio-economic and political landscape in several African countries during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras, respectively. The article argues that failure to properly situate the peculiarities of the African fintech story in the literature, including the factors that have defined the African experience, has undermined the design of effective fintech regulations on the continent. Consequently, the prevailing regulatory environment for fintech in several African countries promotes exploitative fintech products that are inimical to the interests of Africans. To harness the potentials that fintech presents for African countries, financial regulators need to learn from history.
Isa Alade (Sat,) studied this question.