Nigeria processed 11 billion instant payments in 2024 – CBN

Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem continues to expand rapidly, processing billions of transactions each year, but a significant share of the population remains outside the formal financial system, according to a new policy report by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The regulator’s latest fintech policy insight report shows that about 11 billion transactions were processed through the country’s instant payment network in 2024, highlighting the scale and maturity of Nigeria’s financial infrastructure.

These transactions were handled through the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform, the real-time payments system operated by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.

The figure represents more than double the roughly five billion transactions recorded in 2022, placing Nigeria among the world’s busiest markets for real-time digital payments.

However, the report also points to a persistent challenge: financial exclusion. Despite the rapid adoption of digital payments, about 26% of Nigerian adults remain outside the formal financial system, meaning they do not have access to banking or digital financial services.

The gap is even wider in certain regions. According to the report, financial exclusion rises to 37% in rural communities and climbs to nearly 47% in northern Nigeria.

For policymakers and industry players, the contrast reveals a deeper structural issue: strong payment infrastructure alone does not automatically translate into broad financial inclusion.

Payments infrastructure growing rapidly

Nigeria was among the early adopters of real-time payments technology. The NIP system was launched in 2011, years before similar instant payment networks appeared in some advanced economies.

Over time, the platform has become the backbone of Nigeria’s digital financial activity, enabling transfers between banks, fintech apps, and other financial institutions within seconds.

This infrastructure has also helped fuel the rapid growth of Nigeria’s fintech sector. Startups operating in the payments and financial services space collectively attracted more than $215 million in venture capital funding in 2025, reinforcing the country’s position as one of Africa’s largest fintech markets.

Yet while payments technology has advanced significantly, the broader financial ecosystem still faces several constraints that limit how widely digital services can spread.

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The report identifies four major structural challenges: high costs associated with digital identity verification, gaps in system interoperability, transaction infrastructure pressure during peak periods, and regulatory limits affecting inclusive lending.

These barriers affect how effectively fintech companies can expand services to underserved communities.

Identity systems and lending limits remain barriers

Digital identity remains one of the most significant obstacles to expanding financial services. Fintech firms typically rely on identity verification tools such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the National Identification Number (NIN) to comply with regulatory requirements and verify customers.

Although these systems exist, fintech operators surveyed in the report said integration costs and occasional system reliability issues still make it difficult to scale services efficiently.

Limited credit history data also poses challenges for fintech companies trying to design lending products for individuals who have never used formal financial services.

Interoperability, the ability for different financial platforms and systems to communicate smoothly, is another major issue. While Nigeria’s payment rails are well developed, fintech firms still face fragmented data connections across APIs and credit infrastructure, making services such as credit scoring and account aggregation harder to implement at scale.

Respondents in the CBN survey identified two digital infrastructure improvements that could have the greatest impact on the sector: stronger open banking frameworks and more reliable national digital identity authentication systems.

Both were cited by about 37.5% of fintech operators as key enablers for expanding financial access.

The report also highlights ongoing policy debates about lending restrictions affecting certain financial institutions. In particular, Payment Service Banks (PSBs), many backed by telecommunications companies, are currently not permitted to offer credit services.

Some stakeholders believe easing these restrictions or introducing a specialised digital banking licence could allow fintech platforms to expand lending to individuals and small businesses that remain underserved by traditional banks.

For Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, the report suggests the next stage of growth may depend less on payments themselves and more on building financial tools around them, including savings, credit and investment services.

As digital transactions continue to surge, policymakers now face the challenge of ensuring that the benefits of financial technology extend beyond urban users to millions of Nigerians who remain outside the financial system.