The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released its inaugural CBN Fintech Report: Shaping the Future of Fintech in Nigeria – Innovation, Inclusion and Integrity, offering a comprehensive assessment of the country’s fintech ecosystem and a strategic roadmap for its continued development.
The report provides the most detailed analysis to date of Nigeria’s fintech landscape, identifying core strengths, emerging opportunities and key reforms needed to sustain innovation while protecting financial stability, consumer trust and system integrity. It reinforces the CBN’s view of fintech as a complementary pillar of the financial system, supporting inclusion, efficiency and long-term economic growth alongside traditional banking.
Developed through extensive stakeholder engagement, the report draws from a nationwide survey of fintech operators, a closed-door technical workshop held in June 2025 and the CBN Fintech Roundtable convened in October 2025. These engagements informed a practical, evidence-based assessment of progress achieved, persistent bottlenecks and priority policy actions required to unlock the next phase of digital financial development.
The analysis situates Nigeria’s fintech journey within global trends, drawing lessons from peer jurisdictions while highlighting areas where Nigeria has emerged as a continental leader. The findings reaffirm the country’s status as one of Africa’s most dynamic fintech hubs, supported by a mature real-time payments infrastructure and a rapidly expanding innovation ecosystem.
According to the report, nearly 11 billion transactions were processed through the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) platform in 2024, up from five billion in 2022, placing Nigeria among the world’s leading adopters of real-time payments and at the forefront in Africa.
Despite this progress, the report identifies key challenges, including regulatory clarity, time-to-market constraints for new products, access to shared infrastructure, compliance costs and limitations affecting cross-border expansion.
To address these gaps, the report outlines a clear strategic direction focused on enabling innovation within a predictable regulatory environment, expanding financial inclusion through stronger digital infrastructure, and reinforcing system integrity and Nigeria’s international credibility. It proposes policy options to improve regulator-industry engagement, streamline regulatory processes, strengthen supervisory capacity and address constraints related to capital access, data sharing and regional interoperability.
An annexe to the report details practical implementation mechanisms, emphasising that disciplined execution and effective coordination across institutions will be critical to delivering sustainable outcomes.
The CBN said the report is intended to serve as a shared reference point for regulators, financial institutions, fintech operators, infrastructure providers, investors and development partners, supporting coordinated action and sustained confidence in Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.
