The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged financial sector players to work together to build a strong, inclusive, and effective national fintech strategy.
At the virtual meeting for the establishment of a national fintech strategy in Nigeria in conjunction with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Aishah Ahmad, CBN deputy governor in charge of financial systems stability, gave the charge (AFI).
She asked all stakeholders to devote time and resources to developing a national fintech strategy for the benefit of financial service users, the financial system, and the country as a whole.
Digital financial services (DFS) are at the heart of the fintech plan, according to Ahmad, and will be leveraged to drive broader development in the financial ecosystem.
These services, she added, were critical in boosting financial inclusion by lowering the cost of serving, enhancing transaction efficiency, and improving financial security and transparency.
Ahmad praised the CBN’s efforts in this area, saying the central bank had worked to build legislative and regulatory frameworks, as well as enabling infrastructure such as payment systems, to enable DFS in the country.
She explained that the creation of payment service bank standards, the issue of three licenses, as well as the supervisory and open banking frameworks, were all aimed to expand the range of financial products available and facilitate data exchange across the banking and payment ecosystem.
While thanking the AFI for its continuous support for financial inclusion across jurisdictions, the CBN deputy governor urged full participation from all parties to ensure the project’s success.
Alfred Hannig, AFI’s executive director, praised the CBN and stakeholders for advancing Nigeria’s financial inclusion target by 5.2 million adults, from 48.4 million to 53.6 million, or 50.5 percent of the adult population now formally included in the financial system.
As Nigeria investigates methods to leverage fintech and innovation for the benefit of the excluded or unserved, he urged the use of a strong relevance to financial inclusion filter.