CBN begins work on new financial inclusion strategy, targets deeper access

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has commenced work on the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 4.0, with the regulator seeking to move beyond expanding access to financial services to ensuring meaningful usage, affordability, safety and improved financial health.

This was disclosed by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, while delivering his remarks at the launch of the 2026 Access to Financial Services (A2F) Survey Report in Abuja on Wednesday.

The event was organised by the Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA) under the theme: “Access, Opportunity, Growth: Advancing Financial and Economic Inclusion for all Nigerians”.

Mr Cardoso, who was represented by Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, CBN’s Director, Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, said the review of the country’s NFIS 3.0 had been completed, and that work had begun on the next phase.

“Within this stability and resilience framework, the CBN is advancing a new generation of inclusion reforms. The review of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 3.0 has been completed, and work has begun on NFIS 4.0, which will raise the way we take financial inclusion to another level,” the CBN said.

The bank said the emerging strategy would adopt an integrated, data-driven, and accountable framework to address gaps in Nigeria’s financial system.

According to the CBN, the approach would shift the focus from broad access targets to responsible inclusion, with greater emphasis on consumer protection, trust and digital financial safety.

The regulator said it would also move from fragmented information to shared intelligence and strengthen subnational delivery of financial inclusion initiatives.

Financial inclusion

The CBN said the 2023 A2F Survey recorded progress in financial inclusion, with total financial inclusion rising to 74 per cent from 64 per cent in 2020.

Formal financial inclusion also increased to 64 per cent from 56 per cent, while financial exclusion declined to 26 per cent.

The bank attributed the gains to the expansion of digital payments and agent banking, improvements in identity infrastructure, risk-based customer due diligence, financial education, regulatory innovation and collaboration among stakeholders.

However, it acknowledged that significant gaps remain.

“Rural communities remain more excluded than urban communities. Regional gaps persist, and women continue to face a significant inclusion gap,” the bank said.

It also noted that credit, insurance, pensions and other financial products capable of building long-term resilience remained underutilised.

“The policy challenge before us is therefore no longer simply to open accounts or expand access points. It is to ensure meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust and measurable improvements in financial health,” the CBN said.

Geospatial mapping

The regulator said it plans to undertake geospatial mapping of financial access points to create a national repository showing where financial services exist, where gaps remain and how payment channels perform.

It said the initiative would combine location, institutional, operational and transaction information to support risk-based supervision, evidence-based policymaking and targeted investment in underserved communities.

The CBN also highlighted efforts to improve women’s access to finance through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance Code, implemented in collaboration with the Bank of Industry and the Development Bank of Nigeria.

It said the initiative promotes senior-level accountability, gender-disaggregated data and concrete measures to expand financing for women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises.

BVN, agent networks

The bank also disclosed that Bank Verification Number enrollment had reached 67.8 million by the end of 2025, while the agent network supported through the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility had exceeded 2 million agents.

It said the SabiMoni financial literacy programme was also being used to engage communities and equip Nigerians with knowledge to make informed financial decisions, avoid fraud and use financial services responsibly.

The CBN stressed that effective mechanisms for resolving consumer complaints must accompany increased access.

It said it had deployed a redesigned complaints-management system and was upgrading it into a unified complaints-tracking system that would give the regulator real-time online visibility of complaints in the banking sector.

Price stability and inclusion

The regulator linked its financial inclusion agenda to its broader monetary and financial-sector reforms, arguing that financial inclusion cannot thrive amid persistent macroeconomic instability.

It said high inflation erodes household purchasing power, weakens savings and increases the cost of credit, with disproportionate effects on low-income and underserved Nigerians.

The CBN said exchange-rate volatility also complicates business planning, discourages investment and increases the cost of essential inputs.

“Restoring price stability and confidence is therefore not separate from financial inclusion. It is fundamental to it,” the bank said.

The CBN governor added that since 2024, it had refocused on its core mandate of monetary and price stability, while strengthening monetary-fiscal coordination and liquidity management.

The bank also said it was transitioning towards an inflation-targeting framework, which it described as a forward-looking approach that places price stability at the centre of monetary policy while strengthening transparency and accountability.

Responsible innovation

The CBN said technologies and regulatory reforms, including open banking, regulatory sandboxes, digital identification, interoperable payments and improved credit infrastructure, could lower costs and broaden access to financial services.

However, it warned that safeguards must accompany innovation.

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“But innovation must serve people. It must be secure, transparent and supported by appropriate safeguards, particularly for those who are new to formal finance or vulnerable to fraud, data misuse and unfair practices,” it said.

The regulator called on financial institutions, fintechs, payment service providers, telecommunications operators, identity-management agencies, development partners, civil-society organisations and researchers to deepen collaboration on financial inclusion.

It said the ultimate objective was to build a financial system in which Nigerians could save securely, make and receive payments efficiently, obtain responsible credit, protect themselves against risks, build assets and participate productively in the economy.

The CBN said the findings of the 2026 A2F Survey should guide product design, regulation, supervision, investment, financial education and targeted interventions.

“We must use disaggregated data by gender, age, income, location, disability status and enterprise profile to identify gaps, allocate resources and measure outcomes,” it said.

“What gets measured must be acted upon.”

The bank urged stakeholders to use the launch of the 2026 A2F Survey as an opportunity to move “from access to impact, from promises to measurable outcomes, and from financial inclusion to genuine financial well-being and shared prosperity.”