Expert urges governments to leverage Artificial Intelligence for smarter revenue systems

In a direct challenge to outdated and inefficient public financial management, an expert in financial technology is urging governments across all levels to rapidly integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) to build smarter, more transparent, and leakage-resistant revenue collection systems.

Godsent Agundu, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of PlugdPay, a leading government revenue collection platform, made the call, stressing that dependence on manual processes and legacy infrastructure is costing the public sector billions in lost revenue, hindering essential infrastructure development and service delivery.

According to Mr. Agundu, the traditional methods of revenue collection which is often reliant on paper trails, manual reconciliation, and a complex web of unmonitored agents are structurally prone to massive losses.

“The greatest fiscal challenge facing many governments today is not necessarily a lack of revenue sources, but the incredible leakage and lack of transparency within the collection funnel,” Mr. Agundu stated. “When reconciliation takes days or even weeks, and transactions lack real-time visibility, the system invites fraud, inefficiency, and ultimately, a distrust of public finance management.”

He pointed out that this operational friction creates a cyclical problem: low collection rates lead to underfunded services, which, in turn, discourages compliance from the citizenry.

Mr. Agundu highlighted Artificial Intelligence and machine learning as the key to transforming this status quo. Unlike basic automation, AI-driven systems are capable of far more than just digitizing payments; they analyze vast, complex data sets to predict revenue risks, identify patterns of fraud, and ensure instant, accurate reconciliation.

“AI can process millions of transactions in real-time, detecting anomalies and red flags that would be completely missed by human auditors,” he explained. “This gives finance administrators predictive power, moving them from reactive auditing to proactive revenue assurance. It stops revenue leakage before it even happens.”

The benefits of adopting this technology, he noted, extend beyond simple collection figures, fostering a culture of fiscal transparency, efficiency, and real-time governance.

As CTO of PlugdPay, a platform dedicated to modernizing public financial operations, Mr. Agundu provided a tangible example of how this technology is successfully implemented.

PlugdPay is a cutting-edge platform designed with a modular architecture that secures, automates, and centralizes the entire revenue collection lifecycle from the field agent issuing a verifiable digital receipt via a mobile app to the central government dashboard tracking every Naira collected.

“PlugdPay was built on the premise that security and transparency must be baked into the system,” Mr. Agundu said. “Our platform utilizes encrypted data transmission, automated reconciliation, and comprehensive analytics to ensure that every single payment is tracked, accounted for, and instantly verified. It reduces reconciliation time from weeks to days and provides administrators with unprecedented month-on-month insights.”

The technology essentially creates a closed-loop system, making it nearly impossible for funds to be diverted or transactions to be misrepresented. Concluding his remarks, Mr. Agundu emphasized that the technology is already available; the important next step is a commitment from government leadership to adopt and champion these advanced digital solutions.

Governments that leverage AI today will not just improve their bottom line; they will build a foundation of unprecedented transparency, driving economic growth and restoring public confidence in their ability to manage the people’s funds effectively.

See also: Artificial Intelligence to add $1 trillion to Africa’s GDP by 2035- AfDB report