CBN Increases Financial Inclusion Target to 95%

• CBN Increases Financial Inclusion Target to 95%

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday increased its financial inclusion target from the previous 80 percent (by 2020) to 95 percent by 2024.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, CBN, disclosed this during World Press Conference in Abuja, where he outlined the apex bank achievements and future plans.

The governor also said the apex bank is working on a plan to increase the number of adults in the financial system from the current 38 million to 100 million in the next five years.

He said: “We will also intensify our financial literacy and consumer protection programs such that current and eligible bank customers are fully aware of the financial services being offered to them as well as the cost of utilizing these services, which will enable them to make well-informed choices.”

According to the governor, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be aggressively encouraged to enroll for Bank Verification Number (BVN) henceforth.

“In order to ease the constraint poor identification has on the availability of credit to prospective banking customers, the CBN will support an aggressive enrollment of prospective banking customers in the informal sector onto the BVN system,” he stated

Presently, Nigeria has one of the lowest bank customers to population ratio in Africa.

A survey conducted by EFG Hermes showed only 8 percent of Nigerian Population is using mobile banking service despite having 119.5 million internet users. That same number is 72 percent for Kenya, about 300 percent more than the global average of 25 percent, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

A recent world bank report put Nigerian adults outside the financial system at about 35 million. Suggesting that more adults with a mobile device and internet subscription are still not accessing financial service through their mobile devices or even own a bank account.