Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Rises To 79%, Says Group

The Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) has said financial inclusion in Nigeria has risen to 79 per cent, representing about 94.2 million adults using at least one financial product or service.

The organisation disclosed this yesterday at the unveiling of the findings of its ninth Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey.

The survey showed that formal financial inclusion had reached 73 per cent, representing about 87.2 million adults and exceeding the 70 per cent target under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

The findings were presented under the theme, “Access. Opportunity. Growth: Advancing Financial and Economic Inclusion for All Nigerians,” at an event attended by government officials, regulators, financial service providers, development partners and civil society organisations.

At the event, the board chair of EFInA, Dr Agnes Olatokunbo Martins, said the survey provided insights beyond what administrative data could show.

She said while administrative data provided information on accounts, transactions, infrastructure and financial service providers, the A2F Survey offered insight into the experiences of individuals using the financial system.

Martins cautioned against designing financial inclusion policies around national averages, noting that financial needs and experiences differed by income, gender, geography, age and economic activity.

In a keynote address delivered on behalf of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, Director, Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, CBN, Dr Aisha A. Isa-Olatinwo, said the survey evidence was important for policy design, market development, consumer protection and targeting of reforms.

Cardoso said the policy challenge had moved beyond opening accounts and expanding access points to ensuring meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust and measurable improvements in financial health.

He said, “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 improvement in financial health.”

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, also welcomed the increase in pension participation from eight per cent of adults in 2023 to 9.1 per cent.

She, however, said a large proportion of Nigerians remained without pension coverage.

“Roughly nine out of every ten Nigerians are not covered for the day they can no longer work,” Oloworaran said.

She called for collaboration between EFInA and PenCom on a dedicated pension inclusion model, noting that opening an account without funding it did not amount to pension inclusion.

Also speaking during a fireside chat, the Emir of Kano and former Governor of the CBN, Muhammadu Sanusi II, reflected on Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey over the past 18 years.

The discussion was anchored by Professor Olayinka David-West, Dean and Professor of Information Systems at Lagos Business School.

David-West noted that bank access stood at 21 per cent in 2008, while financial exclusion had now fallen to 21 per cent.

Sanusi welcomed the continuity of financial inclusion as a policy priority across successive administrations and cited the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as an example of infrastructure that had supported the financial system.

On household protection, he identified price stability as a key foundation for savings and wealth creation.

“There is no enemy to savings, no enemy to wealth, that is bigger than inflation,” Sanusi said, urging the CBN to maintain its focus on price stability.

Presenting the key findings of the A2F 2026 Survey, EFInA chief executive officer, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, said digital financial services had reached 64.4 per cent of adults, compared with 45 per cent in 2023 and 34 per cent in 2020.

She said digital financial service usage was associated with stronger financial health outcomes, with 33 per cent of digital users classified as financially healthy compared with 9.1 per cent of non-users.

Akinjayeju, however, said three out of every four Nigerians were not financially healthy.

She called for national targets that measured the impact of financial services alongside access and usage.

Research Lead at EFInA, Dr Oluwatomi Eromosele, said the findings showed that Nigeria’s financial inclusion challenge had entered a new phase.

Eromosele said the next phase should focus on reaching people and communities where gaps remained, converting existing financial relationships into access to credit, protection, investment and financial security, and improving outcomes.

“The message from A2F 2026 is clear: Nigeria’s financial inclusion challenge has changed,” Eromosele said.

He said the country now had evidence to guide interventions towards areas where they could make a greater difference.

In her closing remarks, Member of EFInA, Ambassador Nimi Akinkugbe, said the value of the survey would ultimately be measured by the changes resulting from the data.

She said attention should be given to where resources were directed, which interventions were scaled and the changes recorded in the lives of Nigerians.

Akinkugbe also highlighted gender disparities across the geopolitical zones, noting that formal inclusion gaps between men and women were often modest, while financial inclusion was not translating into financial health and resilience at the same rate.

She said the gaps were widest in northern Nigeria.

“The challenge is not simply bringing more women into the system, but making sure that participation actually results in improved economic lives,” Akinkugbe said.

EFInA is scheduled to hold its A2F 2026 Industry Engagement on September 25, 2026, in Lagos for financial service providers, fintechs, insurers and investors.