Addressing industry leaders in Lagos, the apex bank unveiled five non-negotiable strategies designed to drive sustainable growth focusing on platform uptime, fair market access, transparent customer service, and cross-sector collaboration.
Speaking at the 3rd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable in Lagos, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardos represented by Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, Director of Payments System Supervision, and Babatunde Ajiboye, Assistant Director outlined five core outcomes required to steer the next phase of fintech growth in Nigeria.
The apex bank emphasized that future development across the sector must deliver digital financial services that are reliable, secure, fair, transparent and universally accessible to build lasting public trust.
To ensure sustainable scaling across Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem, the CBN identified five key pillars that must guide future innovation. Digital infrastructure and payment networks must maintain high uptime, allowing consumers to transact with complete confidence even during peak traffic periods.
Pricing structures and transaction charges must be clear. Financial institutions must resolve customer complaints promptly and rectify failed transactions without subjecting users to unnecessary hardship.
Safeguarding the ecosystem is a collective responsibility. Operators must continuously invest in secure technology, internal controls, and customer education to combat cyber threats.
Dominant market players will not be allowed to restrict access. Qualified participants must have equal non-discriminatory access to essential payment infrastructure.
The CBN stressed that policy implementation cannot happen in a silo. Achieving these goals requires active alignment between banks, fintechs, mobile money operators (MMOs), switches, telecom providers and regulatory authorities.
See also: CBN Fintech Rules Tighten to Curb Market Dominance
Reaffirming its regulatory position, the apex bank reiterated that it remains eager to support value-adding innovations that extend access to the unbanked and underbanked.
However, the regulator issued a clear warning; the CBN will step in decisively whenever weak corporate governance, high market concentration, or poor operational risk management threaten public trust or systemic stability.
