CBN has released First Fintech Report, charting roadmap for Innovation and Inclusion and System Integrity.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published its inaugural report titled “CBN Fintech Report: Shaping the Future of Fintech in Nigeria – Innovation, Inclusion and Integrity,” providing a comprehensive review of the country’s fintech ecosystem and a strategic roadmap for its sustainable growth.
The report offers the most detailed assessment yet of Nigeria’s fintech landscape, highlighting its core strengths, emerging opportunities and key reforms required to sustain innovation while safeguarding financial stability, consumer trust and system integrity. It reinforces the CBN’s position that fintech is a complementary pillar to traditional banking, supporting financial inclusion, efficiency and long-term economic growth.
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Developed through extensive stakeholder engagement, the report draws insights 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 provided an evidence-based evaluation of achievements recorded so far, persistent challenges and priority policy actions needed to unlock the next phase of digital financial development.
The analysis situates Nigeria’s fintech evolution within global trends, drawing lessons from peer jurisdictions while underscoring areas where the country has emerged as a continental leader. The findings reaffirm Nigeria’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 Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Instant Payments (NIP) platform in 2024, up from five billion in 2022. This places Nigeria among the world’s leading adopters of real-time payments and firmly at the forefront in Africa.
Despite these gains, the report identifies key challenges confronting the sector, including the need for clearer regulatory frameworks, lengthy time-to-market for new products, limited access to shared infrastructure, rising compliance costs and constraints affecting cross-border expansion.
To address these gaps, the CBN outlined a 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. The report proposes measures to enhance regulator–industry engagement, streamline regulatory processes, strengthen supervisory capacity and tackle constraints related to capital access, data sharing and regional interoperability.
An annex to the report details practical implementation mechanisms, stressing that disciplined execution and effective coordination across institutions will be critical to achieving sustainable outcomes.
The CBN said the report is intended to serve as a common reference point for regulators, financial institutions, fintech operators, infrastructure providers, investors and development partners, fostering coordinated action and sustained confidence in Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.
