Nigeria's Financial Inclusion Hits 79%, But Only 25% Are Financially Healthy

Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor 

Nigeria's financial inclusion rate has risen to 79 per cent in 2026, with approximately 94.2 million adults now using a financial product or service, according to the ninth Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey released by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access. Formal financial inclusion reached 73 per cent, or roughly 87.2 million adults, exceeding the 70 per cent target set under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. But the survey, designed by the National Bureau of Statistics and covering 18,679 adults across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory between April and June 2026, reveals that access has not translated into financial resilience. Only 25 per cent of adults are classified as financially healthy, meaning roughly three in four Nigerians continue to face financial vulnerability or distress.

The findings, presented in Abuja before senior government officials, regulators, financial service providers and development partners, mark a significant milestone in Nigeria's long-running effort to bring its adult population into the formal financial system. The exclusion rate has fallen to 21 per cent, a dramatic inversion from 2008 when bank access stood at only 21 per cent and exclusion at 79 per cent. Dr Agnes Olatokunbo Martins, Board Chair of EFInA, said the survey's value lies in its ability to reveal what administrative data cannot. "While administrative data can tell us about accounts, transactions, infrastructure and providers, A2F tells us about the person behind those numbers," she said. She cautioned against designing for a national average, noting that financial needs and experiences differ by income, gender, geography, age and economic activity.

The growth in digital financial services has been particularly striking. Digital financial usage rose from 45 per cent in 2023 to 64 per cent in 2026, with about 77 million adults now using digital channels to receive income, make payments or remit money. Mobile money adoption more than tripled from 12 per cent in 2023 to 38 per cent in 2026. Formal savings increased from 38 per cent to 53 per cent. The Central Bank of Nigeria's cashless policy, introduced in 2023, is widely credited with accelerating this shift. Dr Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion at the CBN, delivering a keynote on behalf of Governor Olayemi Cardoso, said the evidence the survey produces is indispensable to policy design and market development. "The policy challenge before us is therefore no longer simply to open accounts or expand access points," she said. "It is to ensure meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust and measurable improvement in financial health".

That challenge is starkly illustrated by the gap between access and resilience. Although 73 per cent of Nigerian adults are formally included, only 25 per cent are financially healthy — a 48 percentage point gap. Only 10.6 per cent of formally included adults said they could raise N156,000 within seven days without difficulty, compared with 3.7 per cent among those outside the formal financial system. Formal credit rose from 5.3 per cent in 2023 to about 10 per cent in 2026, representing 11.9 million adults. Insurance penetration stood at just five per cent, covering about 6.2 million adults, while pension participation rose marginally to nine per cent, or approximately 11 million adults. Ms Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General of the National Pension Commission, welcomed the rise in pension participation from eight per cent in 2023 to 9.1 per cent but pointed 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.

The survey also reveals deep and in some cases widening disparities. Formal inclusion among urban adults reached 85 per cent in 2026, compared with 58 per cent among rural residents. Among the richest 60 per cent, formal inclusion stood at 90 per cent, while it was only 47 per cent among the poorest 40 per cent. The urban-rural formal inclusion gap widened from 24 percentage points in 2023 to 27 percentage points in 2026, while the wealth gap between the richest and poorest groups increased from 41 to 43 percentage points. The education gap also widened from 50 to 53 percentage points. In the South West, financial inclusion reached 94.2 per cent and formal inclusion 96.4 per cent, while the North East and North West recorded financial inclusion of 54.7 per cent each, with formal inclusion at 61.4 per cent and 62.7 per cent respectively. Gender disparities are most pronounced in the northern zones, where the formal inclusion gap between men and women stood at 20.5 percentage points in the North West, and the digital financial services gap was 23.8 percentage points.

The survey found that 53 per cent of adults in the poorest wealth quintile remain financially excluded, compared with just one per cent among the richest, with almost half of all financially excluded Nigerians belonging to the poorest 20 per cent. The findings suggest that while more Nigerians are entering and using formal financial services, increased access is not translating into improved financial security at the same pace. The survey also raised concerns over financial resilience, revealing that 61 per cent of adults remain in severe liquidity distress, while debt stress has increased. Among adults who experienced financial shocks, 71.6 per cent relied on fragile or erosive coping mechanisms, such as borrowing, selling assets or cutting essential spending, compared with only 13.8 per cent who adopted protective or adaptive coping strategies. Farmers were particularly vulnerable, with 51.2 per cent experiencing a shock. Among shock-exposed farmers, 52.2 per cent used erosive coping mechanisms, while 76 per cent experienced residual financial distress. The survey found that 92 per cent of agricultural workers still receive their payments in cash, highlighting the continued importance of traditional financial channels even as digital adoption grows.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has set an ambitious target of 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2028 under its Vision 2028 document, which also aims for a 70 per cent reduction in financial fraud losses. The survey's findings suggest that reaching that target will require not only expanding access but addressing the structural barriers that keep the poorest Nigerians outside the formal system. The CBN has emphasised that price stability is essential to deepening financial inclusion, and the survey's data on financial health underscores the connection between macroeconomic conditions and household financial resilience. As Nigeria's financial inclusion story shifts from the question of whether people can access financial services to whether those services are improving their financial lives, the coming years will determine whether the gains recorded in 2026 translate into genuine financial security for the millions of Nigerians who remain one shock away from destitution. The survey's findings make clear that opening accounts is no longer enough; the next phase must be about making those accounts meaningful, affordable and capable of protecting households against the risks that define daily life in Africa's most populous nation.

📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com

✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews