CBN wants to remove 4 ‘brakes’ holding back Nigeria’s fintech growth

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wants to remove four major “brakes” holding back the country’s fintech industry, as new financial products stretch beyond traditional banking and regulators struggle to keep pace with innovation. Speaking on behalf of the CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso at the opening of Nigeria Fintech Week 2026 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre, Mr Abiodun Okunola named fragmentation, trust, exclusion and fear of innovation as the key challenges facing Nigeria’s digital financial system. The event runs from September 22 to 23 under the theme “Legacy in Motion: Powering the Digital Renaissance.” His comments come as Nigerian fintech moves beyond basic payments into artificial intelligence, open finance, embedded finance, digital assets and cross-border payments, all major tracks at this year’s event. “Standing still is not stability; standing still is falling behind,” Okunola told the audience. “The challenge isn’t whether or not change will come, but whether we will have the courage, foresight, and coordination to steer it.” The first brake: fragmented regulation Okunola keeps returning to one uncomfortable truth: money moves faster than rulebooks. Financial innovation rarely arrives in a shape regulators already have a drawer for. A fintech might start with payments, then move into insurance, pensions and lending. Suddenly it isn’t dealing with one regulator but several, each with its own forms, timelines and idea of “compliance.” Products that should take months can stall far longer, not because anyone objects, but because no single desk is built to wave them through. Mr Abiodun Okunola “This is where CBN has also taken a departure,” Okunola said, pointing to the CBN’s newly created Innovation Management division, which he heads. Its job is to get regulators talking to one another so companies building across those boundaries aren’t left to referee the conversation themselves. A single fintech offering insurance alongside its core business, for instance, needs a licence from the CBN, and another from NAICOM or PenCom. “How do we speak to each other quickly,” he asked, “so that because you have to get all these licences, you will not delay the value you are trying to deliver?” Similar read: Remita moves beyond payments with launch of super fintech app at Nigeria Fintech Week The CBN’s own 2026 fintech report suggests the industry has been asking the same question. Fragmentation, drawn-out approvals, ambiguous rules and mounting compliance costs all feature as concerns from market participants. The report floats a Single Regulatory Window to handle multi-agency compliance in one place. The second brake: Nigerians still have to trust the technology A financial app can look sleek and move money in seconds. None of that helps if people don’t trust it with their cash or personal details.