By: ThinkBusiness Africa
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled a strategic blueprint to transform the nation from a continental leader into a global “rule-setter” for financial technology.
CBN’s latest report, “Shaping the Future of Fintech in Nigeria,” released on Monday, outlines aggressive plans to export Nigeria’s regulatory success and payment infrastructure across the African continent.
A cornerstone of the new strategy is the introduction of a “Regulatory Passporting” framework. This initiative aims to create mutual recognition of licenses between Nigeria and other major African markets, such as Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Senegal.
Currently, 62.5% of Nigerian fintech firms have plans for regional expansion. The passporting model would allow these firms to enter new markets with significantly reduced compliance hurdles, positioning Nigeria as the primary regional hub for digital financial services.
“In support of this, an equal share (62.5%) endorsed the concept of a regulatory passporting framework, which would allow for mutual recognition of licences across jurisdictions” CBN report noted.
Nigeria is already a pioneer in digital infrastructure, having launched nationwide real-time interoperable payments in 2011—years ahead of many developed nations.
In 2024, the country processed nearly 11 billion transactions, cementing its status as the continent’s clear leader in payment adoption.
The CBN now seeks to leverage this maturity by: Trialling interoperability between Nigeria’s and Ghana’s payment systems to facilitate real-time regional settlement.
Hosting representatives from nearly 20 central payment switches across Africa to share lessons on cross-border interoperability and harmonized standards.
The CBN will be engaging in “South-South” corridors with peer jurisdictions in Asia and the Americas to internationalize Nigerian fintech firms.
Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso emphasized that this expansion must be built on a foundation of “unwavering integrity”.
A significant milestone in this journey was Nigeria’s recent exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list” late last year. This move has restored international confidence and is expected to further reduce frictions for cross-border financial flows.
To support smaller firms in this aggressive expansion, the CBN is exploring a “Compliance-as-a-Service” (CaaS) model. This shared utility would reduce the cost burden of meeting complex regulatory requirements, which 87.5% of stakeholders currently cite as a major barrier to innovation.
The expansion plans align with the Payments System Vision 2025, which targets near-universal e-payment penetration by 2030. By harmonizing regulations across borders and strengthening its domestic infrastructure, Nigeria aims to define the “regulatory and innovation norms” for the future of finance across Africa.
