tl;dr
Nigeria’s Central Bank plans to launch an open banking system in August 2025, enabling regulated financial institutions to access customer data from commercial banks via a new API. The system, overseen by the Open Technology Foundation, aims to increase financial inclusion by allowing better credit ...
Nigeria’s central bank plans to launch an open banking system in August 2025 to enhance financial inclusion and empower customers with control over their financial data. This new system will allow regulated financial institutions to access customer information—from account balances to spending habits—via a standardized API, all under the oversight of the Open Technology Foundation, a non-profit comprising local fintechs and global firms.
The objective is to dismantle the siloed nature of Nigeria’s banking sector, enabling better credit assessments and personalized financial services, especially benefiting the informal sector that traditionally faces barriers to bank loans. Currently, 74% of Nigerians are financially included, but large disparities persist in rural and conflict-affected regions. Open banking aims to close these gaps and foster a competitive, customer-centric ecosystem driven by innovation and data sharing.
Meanwhile, digital payments and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals have surged as vital tools amid banking challenges, including cash shortages at ATMs. The number of PoS terminals doubled in 2024, tallying over 5.5 million and handling transactions worth N18 trillion ($11.2 billion). These terminals generate income for Nigerian youth, many of whom were unable to secure formal employment, by providing transaction-based earnings and creating additional jobs.
Industry experts highlight that open banking, paired with the expanding digital payments infrastructure, marks a transformative era for Nigeria’s financial landscape—offering greater visibility, consent, and financial empowerment to individuals while stimulating youth employment and economic inclusion.