Cardoso Targets Nigeria’s Transition from Fintech Adoption Market to Global Fintech Production Hub

• Tasks banks to deploy N4.65tn recapitalisation funds to real sector

Nume Ekeghe

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has unveiled an ambitious vision to reposition Nigeria from a consumer of financial technology to a global producer of fintech innovation for export.

Cardoso also charged banks to channel the N4.65 trillion raised during the recent recapitalisation exercise into productive sectors of the economy.

Cardoso spoke yesterday at the Future of Banking Summit 2026 organised by CNBC Africa and ABN Group, where he was represented by Director of Statistics Department at CBN, Dr. Okpanachi Moses.

The forum was monitored virtually by THISDAY.

Cardoso reiterated that CBN’s newly launched Payment System Vision (PSV) 2028 was designed to build on Nigeria’s strong foundation in digital payments and position the country as Africa’s leading fintech innovation centre.

He added that Nigeria had already established itself as one of the world’s most vibrant digital payments markets and must now move beyond adopting technology developed elsewhere to creating globally competitive fintech companies.

It would be recalled that CBN recently issued sweeping regulations requiring banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers to localise all payment transaction data generated in Nigeria by January 1, 2027, disclose their ultimate beneficial owners, and comply with new market structure rules aimed at curbing concentration risks, strengthening regulatory oversight, and promoting a more resilient payments ecosystem.

In his keynote address, Cardoso said, “The aspiration now is that Nigeria moves from being a fintech adoption market to a fintech production economy, that the next global competitive fintech is built in Lagos, in Abuja, in Kaduna, on Nigerian data and Nigerian infrastructure, and exported to the world.”

According to him, Nigeria is well positioned to achieve that ambition, given the progress already recorded in the payment ecosystem.

He stated, “Nigeria does not begin this journey from behind. Over the past two decades, our payments ecosystem has become one of the most dynamic in the world, driven by instant payments, fintech innovation, and the expansion of agent banking to approximately two million agents nationwide. In several respects, our performance compares favourably with that of many advanced markets.

“PSV 2028 builds upon these achievements. It is not a response to failure. It is the next phase of a success story that we must not take for granted.”

Cardoso explained that the vision was built around six guiding principles: interoperability, security, financial inclusion, innovation, transparency and collaboration.

On interoperability, Cardoso said payment systems should operate seamlessly across banks, fintechs, and borders without consumers having to worry about which institution sat at the receiving end of a transaction.

He stated, “Value should move seamlessly across platforms, institutions, and borders. That means only when our payment rails are built on open standards rather than walled gardens.

“No Nigerian should have to think about which bank, which wallet, or which provider sits on the other side of the transaction. The money should simply arrive.

“Interoperability is not a future we bolt on at the end it is the foundation we build on from the start.”

He underscored the importance of strengthening cybersecurity and consumer confidence, describing trust as the foundation of any successful digital payment ecosystem.

Cardoso explained, “I want to be candid. A payment system is only as strong as the confidence people place in it. Infrastructure can expand and products can multiply, yet adoption will stall the moment people fear their money is not safe.

“So risk management, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention must be embedded by design rather than added as an afterthought.

“Our ambition is straightforward, though demanding. A Nigerian’s money should be safer within the digital financial system than anywhere else.”

Cardoso said CBN was targeting 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2028 while promoting wider adoption of digital payments and maintaining cash as a legitimate component of an inclusive payment ecosystem.

He added that Nigeria also intended to deepen cross-border payment integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), stating that high payment costs remain a major impediment to intra-African trade.

According to him, “As trade deepens under the African Continental Free Trade Area, the friction of moving money across the continent becomes a tax on African commerce itself.

“Through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, PAPSS, and our broader regional integration agenda, we intend to position Nigeria not merely as a participant in global finance but as a leading driver of Africa’s financial integration.”

Although the speech focused largely on digital payments, Cardoso used the occasion to deliver a strong message to banks on the next phase of the industry’s recapitalisation programme.

He stated that the exercise, which ended on March 31, 2026, mobilised N4.65 trillion in fresh capital, with approximately 73 per cent contributed by domestic investors.

The CBN governor stated, “Perhaps most significantly, about 73 per cent of that capital was raised domestically from Nigerian investors who chose to invest in Nigerian banks. The balance came from international markets, which, in our view, was a powerful vote of confidence in our financial system at a time when global markets had no shortage of destinations.”

However, he stressed that the recapitalisation exercise was never intended to produce stronger balance sheets alone.

He said, “Recapitalisation was never an end in itself. We did not ask the industry to raise capital merely so that balance sheets would appear more impressive.

“We did so because a bank’s capital ultimately determines the level of risk it can responsibly absorb on behalf of the real economy, the scale of transactions it can underwrite, the shocks it can withstand, and the confidence with which it can finance investment and consumption.”

Cardoso said the priority for the banking industry must now shift decisively from raising capital to deploying it.

“Given where we are today the question is no longer whether the envisaged capital was raised. Rather, it is about what will we now do with the capital raised,” he said.

Cardoso added, “A stronger banking system that lends timidly has missed the point. The capital that has been raised must find its way into the productive economy, into small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture, infrastructure, and businesses that create jobs and earn foreign exchange. That is the deployment challenge. It belongs to us as much as it does to you.”

Cardoso urged all stakeholders to focus on implementation rather than policy pronouncements, stating that the success of the CBN’s payments vision would ultimately be measured by outcomes.

He said, “The success of the Payment System Vision 2028 will not be measured by the quality of the document; it will be measured by execution… It requires banks to deploy their strengthened capital with ambition and discipline.

“It requires fintechs to innovate securely. It requires telecommunications companies, payment operators, regulators, development partners, and ultimately every Nigerian who uses the financial system.”