EFInA: Financial Inclusion Hits 79%, Digital Finance Drives Access

Nume Ekeghe

Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate has risen to 79 per cent, representing about 94.2 million adults, as the rapid expansion of digital financial services continues to draw more Nigerians into the formal financial system, the latest Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) has shown.

The survey, released in Lagos, also showed that formal financial inclusion had climbed to 73 per cent, equivalent to about 87.2 million adults, putting Nigeria ahead of the 70 per cent target established under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

The latest figures mark a significant shift in the country’s financial inclusion landscape, with digital channels emerging as one of the strongest drivers of the expansion.

According to the 2026 A2F Survey, 64.4 per cent of Nigerian adults now use digital financial services, compared with 45 per cent in 2023 and 34 per cent in 2020.

The findings were unveiled under the theme, “Access. Opportunity. Growth: Advancing Financial and Economic Inclusion for All Nigerians,” at an event attended by government officials, regulators, financial institutions, development partners and civil society organisations.

Opening the main plenary, Board Chair, EFInA, Dr Agnes Olatokunbo Martins, said the theme captured both the progress made and the ambition that should guide the next phase of Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey. She described the value of the survey as its ability to show what administrative data cannot, explaining that while administrative data can tell us about accounts, transactions, infrastructure and providers, A2F tells us about the person behind those numbers. She cautioned against designing for a national average, noting that financial needs and experiences differ by income, gender, geography, age and economic activity.

In a keynote address delivered on behalf of Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, Director, Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Dr Aisha A. Isa-Olatinwo, CBN, said the evidence the survey produced was indispensable to policy design, market development, consumer protection and the effective targeting of reforms. The address set out a shift in what the sector should now be working towards.
“The policy challenge before us is therefore no longer simply to open accounts or expand access points,” the Governor said. “It is to ensure meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust and measurable improvement in financial health.”

Delivering a goodwill message, DG, National Pension Commission,Ms Omolola Oloworaran, welcomed the rise in pension participation from 8 per cent of adults in 2023 to 9.1 per cent while pointing to the scale of what remains. “Roughly nine out of every ten Nigerians are not covered for the day they can no longer work,” she said. She invited EFInA to work with the Commission on a dedicated pension inclusion model, arguing that opening an account is not by itself pension inclusion, since an account that is open but never funded will not provide dignity in retirement.

Commenting on the findings, Research Lead, EFInA, Dr Oluwatomi Eromosele, noted.“The message from A2F 2026 is clear: Nigeria’s financial inclusion challenge has changed. The next phase must be about precision: reaching the people and places where gaps remain; conversion: turning existing financial relationships into pathways to credit, protection, investment and financial security; and outcomes: ensuring that inclusion ultimately strengthens people’s resilience and economic opportunity. We now have the evidence; the priority is to use it to focus action where it can make the greatest difference.”

In a closing remark, Member, EFInA, Amb. Nimi Akinkugbe, stated that the real measure of the Survey will not be the quality of the data unveiled but what changes as a result of it, asking where resources will be directed, which interventions will be scaled, and what the room will be able to say has changed in the lives of Nigerians by the time it next meets.

She drew attention to the gender findings across the zones, noting that formal inclusion gaps between men and women are often modest while inclusion is not translating into financial health and resilience at the same rate, and that those gaps are widest in the north. “The challenge is not simply bringing more women into the system, but making sure that participation actually results in improved economic lives,” she said.