Interoperability, Cybersecurity Foundation Of Nigeria’s Digital Payment Future

Nigeria’s digital payments revolution has transformed the way millions of people transact. From roadside traders accepting transfers to businesses settling transactions instantly across the country, electronic payments have become an essential part of everyday life.

Yet, beneath the rapid growth of financial technology lies a more fundamental question: can Nigeria build a payment ecosystem that is not only innovative but also secure, trusted and capable of supporting a modern digital economy?

For the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, the answer lies in two critical pillars, interoperability and cybersecurity.

Speaking at the Future of Banking Summit 2026 organised by CNBC Africa and the ABN Group, Cardoso unveiled the broad direction of the CBN’s Payment System Vision (PSV) 2028, describing it as the blueprint for creating a payment ecosystem that is secure, inclusive, transparent and globally competitive.

His message reflected a shift in regulatory priorities. While Nigeria has spent the last decade encouraging fintech innovation and expanding digital financial services, the next phase, according to the CBN governor, is to ensure that the entire ecosystem works seamlessly and earns Nigerians’ confidence.

“Payment systems are no longer simply banking infrastructure. They have become strategic national infrastructure,” Cardoso noted.

He likened payment systems to road networks that people hardly notice until they fail.

“We simply expect them to be safe, reliable, and capable of taking us where we need to go. Payment systems earn public confidence in exactly the same way, by becoming so dependable that people scarcely think about them.”

Digital Payments Reshape Nigeria’s Economy

Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital payment markets. The widespread adoption of smartphones, agency banking, mobile applications and fintech innovation has fundamentally changed how individuals and businesses move money.

According to industry figures, the value of instant electronic transactions reached a record N1.078 quadrillion in 2024, representing a 79.6 per cent increase from N600.349 trillion recorded in 2023.

The country now boasts one of the continent’s most vibrant payment ecosystems, supported by instant payment platforms, hundreds of fintech operators, and nearly two million banking agents who extend financial services into rural communities.

This rapid expansion has helped reduce dependence on cash while bringing millions into the formal financial system.

However, Cardoso believes the next challenge is not simply increasing transaction volumes but ensuring that every payment channel can communicate seamlessly with one another.

Why Interoperability Matters

At the centre of the Payment System Vision 2028 is interoperability.

Today, consumers often encounter differences between banks, digital wallets and payment platforms that can complicate transactions.

According to Cardoso, Nigerians should be able to transfer money across banks, fintech platforms, payment wallets and even international payment systems without worrying about technical incompatibility.

Instead of isolated digital ecosystems, the CBN is promoting open standards that allow payment infrastructure to communicate efficiently across institutions and borders.

“Interoperability is not a future we bolt on at the end; it is the foundation we build on from the start,” he said.

Such integration is expected to lower transaction costs, improve efficiency and stimulate greater innovation by allowing financial institutions to build services on shared infrastructure rather than closed systems.

While seamless connectivity is important, Cardoso argued that cybersecurity will ultimately determine whether Nigerians continue embracing digital finance.

“A payment system is only as strong as the confidence people place in it,” he said.

“Infrastructure can expand and products can multiply, yet adoption will stall the moment people fear their money is not safe.”

Although fraud statistics have shown encouraging improvement, cyber threats remain a growing concern.

According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), fraud losses declined by 51 per cent, falling from N52.26 billion in 2024 to N25.85 billion in 2025, while the number of fraud cases dropped slightly from 70,111 to 67,518.

The figures suggest stronger fraud controls across the industry, but they also underline the scale of cyber risks confronting an increasingly digital financial system.

For Cardoso, security cannot be treated as an afterthought. “Our ambition is straightforward, though demanding: a Nigerian’s money should be safer within the digital financial system than anywhere else.”

He stressed that fraud prevention, cyber resilience and risk management must be embedded into payment infrastructure from the design stage.

Financial Inclusion Remains Central

Beyond technology, the Payment System Vision 2028 also seeks to expand financial inclusion.

The CBN is targeting 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2028, focusing on women, young people, micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as underserved rural communities.

The strategy aims to connect millions more Nigerians to the formal financial system through verified bank accounts and digital wallets while recognising that cash will continue to coexist with electronic payments for the foreseeable future.

Greater inclusion, Cardoso argued, would strengthen economic participation, improve access to credit and support inclusive national growth.

Building Next Generation Of Financial Innovation

The CBN also intends to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies, including open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), artificial intelligence, the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard and selected Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) applications where they offer measurable value.

Cardoso disclosed that Nigeria’s open banking framework has already enabled more than 100 APIs, creating opportunities for collaboration between banks, fintech companies and technology providers.

The broader ambition, however, extends beyond improving domestic financial services.

“The aspiration now is that Nigeria moves from being a fintech adoption market to a fintech production economy; that the next globally competitive fintech is built in Lagos, in Abuja, in Kaduna, on Nigerian data and Nigerian infrastructure, and exported to the world,” he said.

Such a transition would position Nigeria not merely as Africa’s largest fintech market but as a global exporter of financial technology solutions.

Transparency As The Currency Of Confidence

Another key component of the CBN’s strategy is strengthening consumer trust.

Cardoso described trust as “the currency that gives every other currency its value,” stressing that payment service providers must become more transparent and accountable.

This includes stronger customer protection, clearer service-level agreements, faster dispute-resolution mechanisms, and better safeguards for personal data.

He argued that Nigerians will increasingly embrace digital payments only when they are confident that system failures are resolved promptly and that institutions are held accountable.

A Regional Ambition

The CBN also sees Nigeria playing a leading role in Africa’s financial integration.

By leveraging the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) alongside the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria hopes to simplify cross-border payments and reduce transaction costs for businesses trading across the continent.

Improved regional payment infrastructure is expected to support intra-African trade while strengthening Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s leading financial hubs.

The Challenge Ahead

Nigeria’s payment ecosystem has made remarkable progress over the past decade, but sustaining that momentum will require more than technological innovation.

Success under the Payment System Vision 2028 will depend on disciplined execution, collaboration among regulators, banks, fintech firms, telecommunications companies and other stakeholders, as well as sustained investment in digital infrastructure.

For the CBN, the objective is clear: build a payment system that Nigerians trust implicitly, one that connects every participant seamlessly, protects every transaction securely and positions the country to compete in an increasingly digital global economy.