?cbn Unveils Landmark Fintech Report, Charts Path For Nigeria's Digital Finance Future

?The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a landmark report on the country's fintech sector, positioning Nigeria as a continental leader in digital finance while outlining the reforms needed to sustain innovation, inclusion, and integrity. The report, titled Shaping the Future of Fintech in Nigeria: Innovation, Inclusion and Integrity, reflects extensive engagement between regulators, industry stakeholders, and fintech operators, and is intended to serve as a blueprint for the next phase of Nigeria's digital financial evolution. ? ?Governor Olayemi Cardoso, in his foreword, described fintech as a strategic imperative for national development, noting its transformative power to broaden economic participation, create employment, and improve lives. He emphasized that the CBN is committed to fostering innovation under prudent oversight, ensuring that financial services reach every Nigerian while safeguarding the stability of the financial system. ? ?The report highlights Nigeria's pioneering role in real-time payments, with the NIBSS platform processing nearly 11 billion transactions in 2024, up from 5 billion in 2022, making the country one of the world's top adopters of instant payments. It also acknowledges Nigeria's progress in strengthening financial integrity, including exiting the Financial Action Task Force grey list after reforms in anti-money laundering supervision and consumer protection. ? ?Survey insights reveal both opportunities and challenges for fintech firms. While artificial intelligence and real-time payments are driving growth, infrastructure gaps such as limited broadband penetration and incomplete data-sharing systems remain barriers. Compliance costs and regulatory delays are also weighing heavily on innovation, with 87.5 of firms reporting significant impacts on their capacity to scale. Despite these hurdles, there is strong appetite for collaboration, with 75 of respondents calling for regular engagement forums with regulators and all expressing willingness to participate in sandboxes and policy pilots. ? ?The report identifies three strategic priorities: enabling innovation-friendly regulation, advancing financial inclusion through stronger digital infrastructure, and reinforcing system integrity and reputation. Proposed initiatives include a dedicated CBN-fintech engagement platform, compliance-as-a-service models, expansion of open banking, fintech credit guarantees, and regional regulatory passporting agreements to support cross-border growth. ? ?Cardoso stressed that collaboration between government and innovators is the cornerstone of sustainable fintech development, urging structured, frequent, and high-trust engagement. With the right reforms, Nigeria can move from being a fintech frontrunner to a fintech rule-setter, offering lessons not only for Africa but for emerging markets globally. The CBN said it will continue to refine policies through dialogue and evidence-based reforms, ensuring that innovation and integrity advance together as Nigeria consolidates its position as a global reference point in digital finance.