By Modest Ipangelwa
The interoperability will soon reshape Namibia’s financial system. It will connect different financial platforms so that people can send, receive, or withdraw money across banks, wallets, or other systems without barriers.
On the surface, this innovation will look like a simple upgrade to convenience. But beneath it will lie a deeper shift that will challenge the way many of our long-established financial players will build and maintain their power in the market.
For example, for years, having a wide network of traditional ATMs and POS machines across Namibia has been a sign of strength for financial players.
It has also represented presence, reliability, and convenience. If your card machines could be used anywhere from Outapi to Lüderitz, you were part of a trusted financial system. These machines didn’t just serve customers; they built loyalty.
But that same infrastructure that once made institutions strong will soon turn into a heavy cost burden.
Maintaining ATMs, handling cash, and servicing POS terminals will continue to come with ongoing expenses, and as customer behavior shifts toward digital payments and transfers, the usage and revenue from these machines will begin to decline by looking at other markets across Africa.
The interoperability will change the game because it will break down the walls that once defined who serves whom.
A customer using a wallet or a smaller financial platform will be able to withdraw money from a major bank’s ATM or pay a merchant through an entirely different system. To the customer, this will be progress, greater choice and convenience.
But for the institution that owns and operates the physical network, it will mean serving users who are not necessarily their customers, often without seeing any real return or loyalty. In some cases, they will even absorb the operational costs while another player earns from the transaction volume.
The risk will become clearer when we look at how fees are structured. Many banks will have traditionally earned steady income from ATM withdrawals, POS transactions, and interchange fees.
But as interoperability expands, the pressure will mount to standardize or reduce those fees. Regulators will encourage fair access, and consumers will begin to question why one service should cost more when another offers the same benefit for less.
Over time, this will compress the margins for those heavily invested in physical networks.
Meanwhile, digital-first players will reap the benefits of interoperability without the weight of maintaining hardware. They will tap into shared infrastructure through central payment systems or open APIs.
This will allow them to reach customers across Namibia with low overhead costs, while traditional institutions will continue to bear the high expense of maintaining the networks that make these connections possible.
It will be a paradox, one side will carry the infrastructure; the other will capture the growth.
In Namibia, this shift will become even more visible. Mobile money usage, wallet payments, and QR transactions will grow faster than cash withdrawals.
The younger population and small business owners will prefer digital tools that are simple, instant, and low-cost. As these habits take root, traditional ATMs and POS terminals will gradually lose relevance. Each year, fewer people will visit an ATM to withdraw cash and more will expect to pay using their phones or digital wallets.
This will leave traditional institutions at a strategic crossroads. Will they continue expanding their traditional ATMs and POS footprint to preserve visibility and reach, or will they pivot toward more digital-first models that rely on interoperability and data-driven insights? The answer will not be straightforward.
The reality is that Namibia’s financial system will head toward an open and connected future. The real challenge will not be the technology itself, but how traditional players will rethink their value in a world where access will no longer be exclusive.
Analysing the data from various parts of the globe, the way forward will be to see interoperability not as a threat, but as an opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and redefine purpose. Instead of competing on infrastructure, the focus will shift to user experience, digital trust, and financial education.
The institutions that will win in this new era will be those that use their data, presence, and credibility to build services that go beyond cash withdrawals and card swipes. This will make them turn their ATMs and POS machines into gateways for digital services, linking to wallets, payments, and even financial literacy tools.
The interoperability will not mark the end of traditional infrastructure; it will mark the beginning of a more connected system where everyone can participate. The challenge for Namibia’s financial institutions will be to move fast enough to stay relevant in that system. I believe those that adapt will thrive in the digital economy. Those that don’t will find their networks, once symbols of power slowly becoming monuments of a past era.
* Modest Ipangelwa is a Coverage eBanker for First National Bank and FinTech Expert.
