Cardoso: Price Stability Critical to Deepening Financial Inclusion
• Sanusi Lamido regrets delaying telecoms’ entry into financial sector
• Oloworaran seeks pension inclusion module in EFInA survey
• EFInA report reveals drop in financial exclusion to 21% amid limited access to formal credit, insurance, pension by vulnerable Nigerians
James Emejo in Abuja
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, yesterday, said price stability was a critical condition for deepening financial inclusion, stating that persistent inflation and exchange rate volatility can undermine gains in access to formal financial services.
Cardoso said financial inclusion could not thrive in an environment of economic instability, stressing that rising inflation erodes household purchasing power, weakens savings, and increases the cost of credit, particularly for low-income and underserved Nigerians.
That was as Emir of Kano, and former CBN Governor, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said he was wrong to have delayed the entry of telecommunications companies into the country’s financial services sector.
Sanusi said the decision slowed the pace of financial inclusion.
Sanusi, who served as CBN governor from June 3, 2009 to June 2, 2014, said his decision was largely driven by concerns over depositors’ funds following the banking sector crisis at the time.
Cardoso and Sanusi spoke during the launch of Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) 2026 Survey Report in Abuja.
Equally speaking at the event, Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolara Oloworaran, called for the introduction of a dedicated pension inclusion module into EFInA’s A2F survey to establish what would persuade millions of Nigerians outside the formal pension system to start and sustain retirement savings.
Oloworaran urged pension operators and other industry stakeholders to experiment with digital onboarding, accredited pension agents, new distribution channels, transaction-based savings, incentives, and behavioural nudges as part of efforts to expand pension coverage across the country.
The latest survey by EEFInA revealed that the country’s financial exclusion rate had fallen to 21 per cent, though the gains in access to formal financial services were increasingly bypassing the poorest citizens.
According to the report, financial inclusion stands at 79 per cent, with about 94.2 million adults, formal inclusion 73 per cent, with about 87.2 million adults, formal credit 10 per, with about 12 million adults currently borrowing from regulated providers.
The survey found that only nine per cent or 11 million adults had access to pension, while 5.2 per cent or 6.2 million adults had formal insurance protection. The report also showed that 64.4 per cent or about 77 million adults used digital channels to receive income, make payments, and remit.
Cardoso stated that exchange rate volatility also complicated business planning, discouraged investment, and increased the cost of essential inputs, making the restoration of price stability and confidence central to the financial inclusion agenda.
He pointed out that CBN had, since 2024, refocused its operations on its core mandate of monetary and price stability through tighter liquidity management, improved monetary-fiscal coordination, and more consistent deployment of monetary policy instruments.
He added that the bank was transitioning towards an inflation-targeting framework designed to place price stability at the centre of monetary policy, strengthen transparency and accountability, and improve policy predictability for households, businesses and investors.
Represented by CBN’s Director, Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Mrs. Aisha Isa Olatinwo, Cardoso said, “Restoring price stability and confidence is therefore not separate from financial inclusion. It is fundamental to it.”
He said the 2023 A2F survey had recorded significant improvements in citizens’ participation in the formal financial system.
Cardoso stated that total financial inclusion rose from 64 per cent in 2020 to 74 per cent, while formal inclusion increased from 56 per cent to 64 per cent.
Similarly, financial exclusion declined to 26 per cent, while the use of non-bank formal financial services increased substantially.
He attributed the progress to the expansion of digital payments and agent banking, improvements in identity infrastructure, risk-based customer due diligence, financial education, regulatory innovation, and collaboration among stakeholders.
Cardoso, however, cautioned that the gains had not been evenly distributed, with rural communities still recording higher exclusion levels than urban areas.
He also identified persistent regional disparities and a significant gender gap, stating that access to credit, insurance, pensions, and other products capable of building long-term financial resilience remains limited.
He said the challenge was no longer simply to open bank accounts or increase the number of financial access points, but to ensure that financial services were affordable, reliable, safe, and capable of improving the financial well-being of users.
The central bank governor 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.”
New Inclusion Framework
Cardoso said CBN had commenced work on the fourth phase of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, following the completion of the review of the NFIS 3.0 framework.
He said the emerging strategy would shift the focus from broad access targets to an integrated, data-driven, and accountable approach that prioritised consumer protection, digital financial safety, and effective delivery at the sub-national level.
According to him, the bank also plans to undertake geospatial mapping of financial access points to establish a national repository showing where financial services are available, where gaps persist, and how payment channels perform.
He said the initiative would combine location, institutional, operational and transaction data to support risk-based supervision, evidence-based policymaking, and targeted investments in underserved communities.
Cardoso also highlighted efforts to strengthen gender-inclusive finance, particularly through the implementation of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Finance Code in collaboration with Bank of Industry and Development Bank of Nigeria.
He said the initiative was designed to promote stronger institutional accountability, gender-disaggregated data, and concrete measures to expand financing for women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises.
He added that Women’s Financial Inclusion Dashboard, alongside other initiatives targeting women’s access to finance through agent networks, would help make disparities more visible and improve the precision of interventions.
Cardoso said CBN was also strengthening the infrastructure required to support wider participation in the financial system.
He disclosed that BVN enrolment had risen to 67.8 million by the end of 2025, representing unique Nigerians with bank accounts, while the number of accounts across the banking subsector had exceeded 100 million.
He added that the agent network supported under the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility had surpassed two million agents.
According to him, the Sabi Money Platform’s nationwide financial literacy programme is also being used to engage communities and equip Nigerians with the knowledge required to make informed financial decisions, avoid fraud, and use financial services responsibly.
The CBN governor said the expansion of financial access must be accompanied by effective mechanisms for resolving consumer complaints.
He disclosed that CBN had redesigned and upgraded its complaints management system to unify complaint tracking and provide real-time online visibility of complaints across the banking subsector.
Cardoso said the reforms were intended to improve transparency, strengthen regulatory oversight, and facilitate the timely resolution of grievances.
“Assets must be accompanied by redress,” he said, adding that consumer confidence would deepen when customers are assured that their funds are safe and financial institutions can be held accountable.
Banking Resilience, Responsible Innovation
The CBN governor also linked financial inclusion to the resilience of the banking system, saying the ongoing recapitalisation programme is aimed at ensuring that banks possess the capital, governance structures, and risk management capacity required to support a growing economy.
He said stronger institutions, effective supervision, and robust payment infrastructure were essential to protecting depositors and ensuring that innovation expanded opportunities without compromising financial stability.
Cardoso identified open banking, digital identification, interoperable payment systems, regulatory sandboxes and improved credit infrastructure as important tools for reducing costs and widening access.
He stressed that such innovations must be secure, transparent and supported by appropriate safeguards, particularly for new users of formal financial services and people vulnerable to fraud, data misuse and unfair practices.
He urged financial institutions, fintech companies, payment service providers, telecommunications operators, identity management agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, and researchers to work together in implementing the findings of the 2026 A2F survey.
He said the report should guide product development, regulation, supervision, investment, financial education and targeted interventions.
According to him, data disaggregated by gender, age, income, location, disability status and enterprise profile would be crucial to identifying gaps, allocating resources and measuring outcomes.
Cardoso said, “Our shared objective must be a financial system in which every Nigerian can save securely, make and receive payments efficiently, obtain responsible credit, protect against risk, build assets and participate productively in the economy.”
He added that CBN would continue to pursue disciplined, transparent and data-driven policies aimed at reducing inflation, strengthening the naira, protecting consumers and creating conditions for sustainable economic development.
Meanwhile, Sanusi, during a firechat, admitted that subsequent developments in digital finance had shown that telcos could have significantly accelerated access to financial services, particularly for Nigerians beyond the reach of conventional banks.
He said, “I’m responsible for delaying the entry of telcos into this space.”
Sanusi explained that he had been reluctant to allow companies outside his primary regulatory control to have access to large pools of customers’ funds.
He said, “I do think if I had allowed that to happen, there would have been much more progress.”
He, however, acknowledged the role of subsequent CBN administrations in opening the financial services space to telcos and fintech operators.
Banks Lack Footprint in Rural Areas
According to Sanusi, the rapid expansion of digital financial services has exposed the limitations of the traditional banking model in reaching financially excluded Nigerians.
He said, “I think we’ve made more progress in the last few years than we did in the first one because the banks simply don’t have the boots on the ground. They don’t have the footprint to do it.”
He stated that the next phase of financial inclusion should move beyond simply opening accounts or facilitating payments to helping Nigerians build savings, obtain insurance, and secure pensions.
Sanusi urged financial regulators to examine the enormous transaction volumes passing through fintechs and payment platforms and find ways of converting a fraction of those daily flows into long-term financial security.
He said, “If one company is moving $360 billion, which is more than your GDP, you can’t ignore that company.”
He suggested that small deductions from everyday transactions could gradually create savings pools for Nigerians who may find it difficult to commit to large, regular contributions.
Sanusi stated, “People understand, okay, you don’t have to come and pay N1,000 or N2,000. A small amount every day can build over time, over transactions, build up a pool of savings.”
Inclusion Must Cushion Shocks
Sanusi said financial inclusion would remain incomplete if Nigerians could access payment platforms but remain vulnerable to economic shocks that could wipe out years of savings and investment.
He cited market fires and poor harvests as examples of events that could devastate traders and farmers without insurance protection.
Sanusi called for greater collaboration among CBN, National Insurance Commission (NACOM), and National Pension Commission (PenCom) to develop products combining savings, insurance and pension components, supported by the digital infrastructure already available.
The former CBN governor also emphasised financial literacy and warned against measuring financial inclusion simply by the number of accounts opened or transactions processed.
Rather, he said, the test should be whether financial services enabled households and businesses to accumulate wealth and withstand unexpected shocks.
“There is no enemy to savings, no enemy to wealth that is bigger than inflation,” he said, underscoring the importance of price stability to the success of financial inclusion.
‘Imported Beef Will Wipe Out Livestock’
Turning to the wider economy, Sanusi warned that policies aimed at reducing food prices through imports could undermine domestic production and erase investments in agricultural value chains.
He specifically criticised the opening of the country’s beef market to American beef, stating that cheaper imports could weaken local livestock production and rural livelihoods.
He stated, “I just read a few weeks ago, it was an advertisement, did not come from Nigeria, from the United States. We have now opened our beef market to American beef. That’s going to wipe out livestock.”
Sanusi said the same policy dilemma had emerged in the rice sector, where years of investment in domestic production and milling could be undermined by imported rice.
According to him, “Imported rice from Thailand, imported rice from India, basically wiping out domestic production, and that is going to take another 10, 20 years to rebuild.”
He stressed that policymakers should look beyond the immediate benefit of lower food prices and consider the longer-term impact on farmers, processors, jobs and rural economies.
Calls for Targeted Support
Sanusi said government could instead provide targeted assistance to vulnerable households through cash transfers and other forms of direct support, enabling them to maintain consumption without destroying markets for domestic producers.
“If they’re buying local goods and services, you create a market, and you create a market, and then you create something for the producers,” he said.
He maintained that economic policies should be coordinated so that measures designed to provide short-term relief do not inadvertently weaken the productive base needed for sustainable growth.
Sanusi said, “For the politicians, it’s a protection. Breaking down food prices is fantastic for the government. Everybody’s happy. But for the economy, it has set us back 10 years.”
The former CBN governor urged policymakers to link financial-sector reforms with productive economic activity, pointing out that financial flows should ultimately support production, jobs, incomes and resilience rather than merely facilitate transactions.
Beyond Access to Sustained Pension Savings
Oloworaran stressed that the next phase of pension reform must move beyond measuring access to understanding what actually drives sustained participation.
According to her, while the survey provides useful evidence on the number of Nigerians with pension coverage, more detailed information is required on why people remain excluded and the interventions capable of bringing them into the system.
“What we now need is a dedicated pension inclusion module that tells us what will persuade those without one to start saving and keep saving,” she said.
Oloworaran said the industry needed answers to practical questions around pension savings, including what would persuade an informal-sector worker to set aside even N1,000 regularly, the incentives capable of changing savings behaviour and the factors that could build trust in a financial product that may span several decades.
She stated that such evidence would help move Nigerians through the different stages of pension participation—from awareness to enrolment, regular contributions and ultimately adequate retirement savings.
National Pension Inclusion Map
The PenCom DG also proposed the development of a pension inclusion map for Nigeria, using EFInA’s demand-side evidence alongside regulatory and industry data.
She said the proposed map should provide granular information on pension exclusion by geography, gender, age, occupation and income, enabling policymakers and industry players to identify where the gaps were widest and why they existed.
According to her, a more precise understanding of exclusion would allow government and the private sector to deploy policy interventions, incentives, and other resources where they would have the greatest impact.
Industry Urged to Test Digital, Behavioural Interventions
Oloworaran called for a shift from evidence gathering to experimentation, urging EFInA and the pension industry to test different approaches with actual users and independently measure their outcomes.
She said, “As we roll out the personal pension plan, I invite EFInA and the industry to test what works—from digital onboarding to accredited pension agents, distribution frameworks, transaction-based savings, marketing incentives and behavioural nudges.”
She added that the objective should be to identify interventions that work in practice, discard those that fail, and scale successful models across the country.
The PenCom chief executive said the need for such an approach was underscored by the relatively low level of pension participation captured in the latest survey.
She disclosed that pension participation had increased from 7.8 per cent of Nigerian adults in 2023 to 9.1 per cent in 2026.
Despite the improvement, she said about nine out of every 10 adults remained outside a formal pension arrangement.
Oloworaran said the excluded population was not limited to one category of workers, but included traders, farmers, mechanics, drivers, tailors, hairdressers and young Nigerians earning through digital platforms.
She stated that although the groups contributed significantly to the economy, many had yet to build adequate financial protection for the period when they would no longer be able to work.
Account Opening Not Enough
She said PenCom was focused on redesigning pension inclusion for Nigerians who currently had no pension arrangements, while stating that government has also taken steps to strengthen the existing system.
According to her, historical pension arrears have been resolved, retirement benefits have improved for many Nigerians, while minimum pension protection and healthcare support for local retirees are advancing.
However, she maintained that government alone could not close the pension inclusion gap.
Oloworaran also cautioned against measuring pension inclusion simply by the number of accounts opened, arguing that an unfunded account offered little protection to its owner.
“Because opening a pension account is not, by itself, pension inclusion. An account that is open but never funded will not provide dignity in retirement,” she said.
She said the more important measure was whether Nigerians were making consistent contributions and accumulating enough savings to support themselves after leaving the workforce.
For Oloworaran, the ultimate value of the A2F survey would lie not in the publication of its findings but in the policy and market responses generated by the evidence.
She said PenCom’s objective was to ensure that every working Nigerian could build a pension easily and affordably, through arrangements that reflected the way individuals actually earned their livelihoods.
She added that combining government policy, PenCom’s regulatory mandate, industry infrastructure and technology with EFInA’s evidence could significantly improve retirement security for millions of Nigerians.
“True financial inclusion does not end with a bank account,” Oloworaran said.
She stressed that it should cover an individual’s entire economic life—from the first income earned through the final working day and into a retirement lived with dignity.
EFInA’s Main Findings
Meanwhile, EFInA in its 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey, found that 53 per cent of adults in the poorest wealth quintile remained financially excluded, compared with just one per cent among those in the richest quintile.
It further showed that almost half of all financially excluded Nigerians were drawn from the poorest 20 per cent of the population, pointing to poverty rather than geography as an increasingly important barrier to financial inclusion.
The report also found that financial participation was expanding at an uneven pace, with Nigerians making greater use of digital channels and formal savings products without a corresponding increase in access to credit, insurance, and other tools capable of strengthening household resilience.
According to the survey, digital financial usage jumped from about 47 per cent to 64 per cent, while mobile money adoption more than tripled from 12 per cent in 2023 to 38 per cent in 2026.
The expansion, EFInA stated, was reflected in increasingly routine uses of digital financial services, including payment of bills, purchases, receiving money and transfers.
However, the report cautioned against an exclusively digital approach. It said cash and financial agents remained important to millions of Nigerians, while smartphone ownership, connectivity, and digital capability continued to vary across income and occupational groups.
For instance, as much as 92 per cent of agricultural workers reported that they still received payments in cash.
Savings Outpace Credit, Insurance
The survey also highlighted a widening gap between Nigerians’ ability to save formally and their access to financial products that could support livelihoods or protect them against shocks.
Formal savings rose from 38 per cent to 53 per cent, but formal credit remained at 10 per cent, while insurance stood at just five per cent and pension participation about nine per cent.
The report indicated that although more Nigerians were entering the formal financial system, access was still concentrated around the movement and storage of money rather than financing economic activity or transferring financial risks.
EFInA said the findings called for a shift in the financial inclusion conversation from simply measuring whether people had access to financial services to assessing what those services enabled them to achieve.
61% Face Severe Liquidity Distress
The survey’s findings on financial health exposed the vulnerability of many households despite the expansion in financial access.
It found that 61 per cent of adults remained in severe liquidity distress, even as some indicators of financial health improved.
Debt stress also increased, while Nigerians who experienced financial shocks were overwhelmingly more likely to rely on coping mechanisms that could weaken their future financial position.
Among adults who experienced shocks, 71.6 per cent relied on fragile or erosive coping mechanisms, compared with only 13.8 per cent who used protective or adaptive responses.
Such coping strategies can include borrowing, selling assets or cutting essential expenditure, potentially leaving households more exposed when another shock occurs, the report stressed.
Farmers Remain Highly Vulnerable
The report also found that 51.2 per cent of farmers had experienced a shock, while 52.2 per cent of shock-exposed farmers relied on erosive coping mechanisms.
As a result, 76 per cent experienced residual distress after the shocks.
EFInA said the findings reinforced the need to view agricultural finance beyond access to loans, linking savings, credit, insurance and climate adaptation to the protection of farmers’ livelihoods.
Women’s inclusion remains uneven
The survey also found significant differences in financial inclusion among women depending on their economic circumstances.
Formal inclusion among women business owners increased from 67.5 per cent to 76.3 per cent, while inclusion among women farmers rose from 42.7 per cent to 53.6 per cent.
However, exclusion among dependent women increased to 52.2 per cent, underscoring the limitations of treating women as a single category in financial inclusion interventions.
The survey also examined young Nigerians, business owners and farmers, as well as the relationship between financial inclusion, climate vulnerability and consumer protection.
Beyond access, it assessed customers’ experiences with financial service providers, including communication, customer support, timeliness of services and fraud education.
EFInA said the evidence showed that increased participation in the financial system did not automatically translate into an equitable or satisfactory customer experience.
The 2026 findings pointed to a new phase in Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive—one in which the central challenge was no longer simply bringing more people into the formal financial system, but ensuring that those services helped households finance livelihoods, manage risks, and withstand economic shocks.
