Many major global regions struggle with the absence of reliable banking infrastructure, which would allow people like farmers, small shop owners, and rural families to form part of simple forms of digital payments. This exclusion represents a structural barrier to growth, limiting their ability to save securely, receive payments, or increase their outreach to different, more digitalized markets.
For Gideon Mojolaoluwa, this reality was not an abstract statistic but through his own experiences. Originally from Nigeria and raised without consistent access to electricity or financial services, he saw how financial exclusion could entrench inequality, and has been working to fix it ever since.
Over the years, Gideon has worked to expand the outreach of important technologies that have become crucial to secure digital payments. Today, as founder and CEO of TapReady, he is leveraging that skillset to transform how millions of people across Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe access modern financial tools.
Gideon’s background and his view on finance
Raised in a rural part of Ibadan, Nigeria, Gideon grew up without reliable electricity or nearby banking access. Those early conditions meant dealing with daily obstacles for even the simplest financial needs.
“Working in Africa taught me how to build technology that works even when nothing else does — when the internet is down, the power cuts, or the nearest bank is a day’s journey away,” he later reflected.
The absence of a broader infrastructure in place shaped both Gideon’s perspective and his ambitions. Trained initially as an electrical engineer, he worked on power systems in remote communities, where the lack of access to banking services underscored the limits of economic participation.
Motivated to address this problem, he taught himself advanced software engineering. Without mentors or institutional pathways, he pushed himself into understanding the underlying systems behind pay structures that millions use. Describing his ambitions, he says, “In such a rare field, credibility comes only from results, so I had to prove myself by delivering high-impact solutions.”
Building technology for real-world challenges
One area Gideon focused on understanding is the engineering of the EMV L2 Kernel. These software components enable smart cards and payment terminals to “speak the same language” and are synced up regarding the nature of each transaction. This method has become near-omniscient, with over 96% of card-present transactions globally now using EMV chips.
Gideon worked directly with this technology, teaching himself its inner workings to incorporate it in regions that lack the infrastructure to implement it on a larger scale. He was able to do this through the creation of Duplex, the most significant achievement in this area, a purpose-built EMV L2 Kernel designed for African and Caribbean markets.
Before Duplex, people with domestic cards, meaning outside the fringes of larger providers like Visa and Mastercard, were excluded from the seamless tap-to-pay experiences. Gideon’s invention changed that dynamic, with the company reporting it’s helped many cardholders use their local cards on NFC-enabled devices.
The implications extended beyond technology. Banks and governments in Africa and the Caribbean began using Duplex to process transactions, expand digital inclusion, and bring local card schemes into the global ecosystem.
TapReady: digital payments across borders
In 2024, Gideon applied the larger outreach he’d accomplished with Duplex to form TapReady, a company that aims to provide end-to-end, tap-to-pay payments around the world, whether it’s card-to-phone, card-to-terminal, phone-to-phone or phone-to-terminal. Early funding rounds drew over $1.1 million in capital, despite a challenging investment climate, and programs like Accelerate Africa selected TapReady as one of its top startups.
One of TapReady’s defining milestones came through a partnership with a large Nigerian card scheme. The collaboration enabled the company’s existing cardholders to store their cards securely on NFC devices, essentially providing a homegrown equivalent to pre-existing systems like Apple Pay. Within months, TapReady had successfully partnered with leading banks in Nigeria and Barbados, positioning itself as an important tool for local financial systems.
The company’s growth mirrored Gideon’s broader philosophy: to build systems robust enough for underserved markets while sophisticated enough to compete globally.
His vision to expand inclusion
Looking ahead, Gideon aims to continue growing the markets TapReady reaches to eventually serve over 100 million users, embedding NFC in cost-effective devices across emerging markets, and mentoring the next generation of fintech engineers.
His presence on high-profile stages, such as the Smartphone for Africa Summit hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GSMA, where he called for affordable NFC integration in locally manufactured smartphones, shows his dual role as a technical leader and policy advocate.
He envisions TapReady as a way to set up broader financial participation for communities long left behind. By entering into long-term agreements with governments, banks, and manufacturers, the company aims to close gaps that have persisted for decades. Gideon’s commitment to training engineers ensures that the expertise required to sustain these systems will grow out of the very regions that need it most.
Ultimately, in Gideon Mojolaoluwa’s own words, “My ultimate aspiration is to close the global financial inclusion gap — making seamless and safe payments available to everyone, no matter their geography.” The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as financial or professional advice. Readers should not rely solely on the content of this article and are encouraged to seek professional advice tailored to their specific circumstances. We disclaim any liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information presented.
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