NDIC Moves To Deepen Deposit Protection Across Digital Finance

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has moved to deepen deposit protection across Nigeria’s growing digital finance ecosystem, as the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) called for stronger public communication to ensure Nigerians understand the reforms reshaping the financial sector.

The two institutions spoke at the 2026 Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Conference and 36th Anniversary in Lagos, where they stressed the importance of public confidence and effective communication in sustaining banking sector reforms.

According to Head Communication and Public Affairs Department at NDIC, Hauwa Gambo, the Corporation was extending its deposit insurance mandate to eligible deposit taking institutions operating within the digital financial services space.

Gambo who was represented by he assistant director, Communication and Public Affairs Department of the NDIC,  Adegbenga Fabuyi, identified mobile money operators and fintech enabled microfinance banks among institutions whose eligible deposit taking activities benefit from the NDIC’s deposit insurance framework.

NDIC said the move was aimed at strengthening confidence in digital financial services as more Nigerians increasingly use technology driven platforms for savings, payments and other financial transactions.

She said the revised deposit insurance limit, which was increased from N500,000 to N5 million for deposit money banks, now fully covers 98.98 per cent of depositors, providing greater protection for customers within the regulated financial system.

The higher coverage the NDIC said should encourage Nigerians who remain reluctant to keep substantial funds in financial institutions to move their money into the formal system, adding that deposit mobilisation remained critical to the ability of banks to provide credit, clarifying that the fresh capital raised under the ongoing recapitalisation exercise should not be mistaken for funds that banks would automatically lend to customers.

“The recapitalisation means that it is not the capital base that the banks will give as loan, as credit; it is the money deposited in the banks by the depositors. So, we still need more people to bring their money into the banking system,” she said.

Meanwhile, the registrar and chief executive of the CIBN, Akin Morakinyo, said financial journalists had a critical role to play in helping Nigerians understand banking sector recapitalisation, tax reforms and the fintech revolution.

Morakinyo said the reforms would have limited impact if the public was not adequately informed about their purpose, implementation and implications. “Whatever you have and you do not use is of no use. When you talk of reforms, the topic of this conference will be worthless without your role,” he said.

He urged financial correspondents to bridge the information gap between policymakers, financial institutions, businesses and the public through accurate and accessible reporting.

The CIBN chief said stronger communication was particularly important as Nigeria simultaneously implements reforms across banking, taxation and technology.