Head of Treasury at FairMoney Microfinance Bank, Feyishetan Akinyemi, spoke about the importance of customer savings and the need to leverage automated wealth tools to hedge against rising inflation in Nigeria. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:
Inflation acts as a ‘stealth tax’ on idle cash. For the average Nigerian who is used to traditional savings, how does FairMoney MFB specifically quantify the difference in real value between a standard bank account and your high-yield wealth products?
We quantify it by focusing on real returns—what your money is actually worth after inflation, and not just the interest you earn. At FairMoney MFB, we make that difference explicit. For each product, we compare the nominal return to prevailing inflation and show the real value outcome: A standard bank account might deliver less than five per cent, which translates to a significant negative real return.
Internally, we track this using a simple real return framework, essentially adjusting all product yields for inflation, so we’re not just optimizing for headline rates, but for customer purchasing power over time.
So, the shift we’re driving is from ‘my money is growing’ to ‘my money is actually keeping up or beating the cost of living.’ That’s how we make the impact of inflation tangible and measurable for our customers.
In simple terms: traditional savings grow your balance, but shrink your lifestyle, and our goal is to close and where possible, eliminate that gap.
With core inflation sitting at a double digit, many Nigerians are afraid about keeping their wealth in Naira. Beyond just interest rates, what specific ‘wealth track’ features within the FairMoney app, offer users a strategic shield against the constant threat of currency devaluation?
In a high-inflation environment, we know interest rates alone don’t solve the problem, so we focus on structure, we address behavioural risk, provide yield structuring, enable laddering and diversification within the naira and finally focus on consistence and compounding. Yes, interest rates alone don’t solve the problem, so with products like FairSave and FairTarget, we guide customers into ‘wealth tracks’ that combine higher yields, disciplined saving, and smart fund allocation. For example, FairTarget locks in goal-based savings to ensure customers stay invested long enough to earn inflation-beating returns, while FairSave provides flexible, high-yield options for liquidity. We also enable customers to split funds across different tenors, effectively creating a simple portfolio that balances access and returns. So, while we’re operating in Naira, what we’re really offering is a structured way to preserve and grow real value.
Wealth management is traditionally seen as a service for the elite. How is FairMoney leveraging tech to offer retail users access to competitive interest yields that were previously out of reach for someone starting with low income?
We’re essentially unbundling what used to make wealth management ‘exclusive’ and rebuilding it with technology.
Traditionally, high yields were reserved for wealthy clients because of high operating costs, manual processes, and large minimums. At FairMoney, we remove those barriers by being fully digital in such a way that onboarding, account management, and transactions happen at near-zero marginal cost.
That allows us to lower entry thresholds significantly, so even customers starting with small amounts can access the same yield structures that were previously reserved for high-net-worth clients.
We also use automation and data to manage funds efficiently—so instead of relationship managers and bespoke mandates, customers get pre-structured products like FairSave and FairTarget that replicate disciplined investment strategies in a simple, app-based format.
And importantly, we embed compounding and consistency directly into the user experience through goal-based savings, reminders, and easy reinvestment so customers don’t need sophistication to benefit from it. So, in simple terms: we’re using technology to turn what was once a high-touch, high-minimum service into a low-cost, high-access platform, where anyone can start building wealth with competitive returns, regardless of income level.
Individual savings discipline drives national economic stability. How is FairMoney MFB collaborating with regulators or the broader fintech ecosystem to support government’s $1 trillion economic roadmap?
At a high level, our role is to turn millions of small, retail savings into a stable pool of domestic capital—and then ensure that capital is productively deployed within the financial system in line with regulatory frameworks.
First, we operate within a fully regulated structure, under the oversight of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria, and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation. That ensures customer funds are not just protected, but also channeled into approved instruments that support liquidity and credit in the economy. Secondly, through our treasury and investment activities, customer deposits are intermediated into government securities and high-quality credit assets—which directly supports public financing and private sector growth.
Finally, and most importantly, we focus on financial inclusion at scale. By digitizing savings and making wealth products accessible to everyday Nigerians, we’re expanding the base of participants contributing to the formal financial system. That growing pool of domestic capital is exactly what underpins long-term economic ambitions like Nigeria’s $1 trillion GDP target.
FairMoney uses automation to prevent emotional spending. In a high-inflation environment where people often feel the need to spend money immediately before prices rise further, how does your platform encourage the opposite behavior, such as long-term disciplined investment?
We recognise that in a high-inflation environment, the instinct is to spend quickly and it equals wealth erosion. So, we use automation to flip that instinct into disciplined investing because what we have done is not fight human behaviour but design around it.
First, we make saving default, not optional by making customers contribute to their savings before consumption in products like fair target.
Secondly, we introduce structured friction. Goal-based and locked savings create intentional limits on withdrawals, which helps customers stay invested long enough to benefit from higher yields and compounding—rather than reacting to short-term price movements.
Thirdly, we make progress visible and rewarding. By showing users how their money is growing over time and what they stand to lose by breaking discipline, we reinforce long-term thinking over impulse decisions. We also simplify reinvestment and compounding. Returns are automatically rolled over or easily reinvested, so customers don’t have to make repeated decisions to stay invested.
So instead of relying on willpower, the platform is designed to automate discipline, thus helping customers move from reactive spending to consistent, long-term wealth building, even in an inflationary environment.