The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, on Monday said that an efficient payment system remains one of the fastest ways to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty as the apex bank unveiled the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028.

Speaking at the launch of the vision document in Abuja, Cardoso said Nigeria’s payment infrastructure must go beyond facilitating transactions and become a catalyst for economic growth, financial inclusion, job creation, and poverty reduction.

According to him, “One of the fastest ways to take a large number of people out of poverty is through an efficient payments system.”

The event brought together regulators, banks, fintech operators, development partners, and other stakeholders in the financial services sector.

Cardoso explained that the Payments System Vision 2028 builds on Nigeria’s progress in digital payments and provides a roadmap for developing a payment ecosystem that is secure, resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive.

He noted that Nigeria’s payments ecosystem has evolved significantly over the past two decades, driven by instant payments, fintech innovation, and increased digital adoption.

“Today, we unveil more than a payment strategy. We unveil a vision for how Nigerians will transact, trade, save, invest, and participate in an increasingly digital economy,” he said.

The CBN governor described payment systems as critical national infrastructure capable of reducing the cost of doing business, improving productivity, strengthening transparency, supporting trade, and expanding participation in economic activities.

“In a modern economy, payment infrastructure is not simply a financial utility. It is a strategic national asset,” Cardoso stated.

He said the vision was designed to support broader economic reforms introduced by the CBN since 2023 by improving the efficiency, resilience, and international connectivity of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem.

According to him, the initiative would help facilitate trade and remittance flows, deepen investor confidence, and strengthen the country’s balance of payments position over time.

Cardoso further explained that the framework seeks to ensure that every Nigerian participates meaningfully in the digital economy while positioning the country to benefit from opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area and the growth of digital commerce.

He added that efficient and interoperable payment systems would enable entrepreneurs, traders, and small business owners to access new markets, receive payments faster, and participate more actively in regional and global commerce.

The governor challenged stakeholders to focus on implementation and measurable outcomes, stressing that the success of the vision would depend on practical execution rather than policy declarations.

“The journey is to impact the lives of the poor. The journey is to lift people out of poverty, and the journey is to have an impact on GDP,” he said.

Cardoso disclosed that the CBN was targeting 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2028, which he said could bring about 50 million additional market women, farmers, and young people into the formal financial system.

He also outlined plans to reduce cash usage in the economy, expand digital payment acceptance through QR codes and tap-to-phone solutions, and strengthen trust in electronic transactions.

According to him, the apex bank aims to reduce cash outside the banking system to less than 40 per cent of money in circulation while promoting digital payments in markets, transport hubs, and rural communities.

Cardoso added that the CBN was targeting fraud losses of less than 0.001 per cent of total transactions by 2028 through stronger identity verification, artificial intelligence-driven fraud detection, and deeper integration of the Bank Verification Number system.

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

He further disclosed that open banking reforms had already made more than 100 licensed application programming interfaces available, creating opportunities for innovation and supporting the growth of fintech companies.

Cardoso said Nigeria must continue investing in trusted and resilient financial infrastructure to remain competitive in the evolving global digital economy.

Also speaking at the event, the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate of the CBN, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, said the success of Nigeria’s economic growth would increasingly depend on the seamless and secure movement of money across households, businesses, governments, and borders.

Abdullahi described the Payments System Vision 2028 as a strategic framework designed to shape the future of payments, commerce, and economic interactions in Nigeria.

He said the framework was built around five strategic pillars: payment infrastructure, financial inclusion, innovation, cross-border payments, and regulation and cybersecurity.

According to him, the infrastructure pillar seeks to modernise national payment systems, achieve interoperability among banks and fintech firms, and scale real-time payments across the economy.

On financial inclusion, Abdullahi said the vision would focus on expanding access through mobile platforms and agent networks while strengthening consumer protection and financial literacy.

He added that Nigeria planned to deepen integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System and the African Continental Free Trade Area framework to reduce cross-border payment costs and strengthen the country’s position as a regional settlement hub.

Earlier, the Director of Payments System Policy at the CBN, Musa Jimoh, said Nigeria’s payments transformation journey began in 2007 when the apex bank introduced the Payment System Vision 2020 to modernise the country’s largely cash-based economy.

He noted that the CBN later introduced policies such as the cashless initiative and agent banking framework to expand financial access nationwide.

“Today, we are proud to announce that we have over two million agents spread across the country,” Jimoh said.

He explained that the new Payments System Vision 2028 was designed to deepen financial inclusion further, strengthen trust in digital financial services, and improve Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global payments landscape.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, stressed the importance of collaboration among regulators and financial sector operators, while the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, described the vision as a critical step toward achieving the Federal Government’s goal of building a $1tn economy.

Maida said the NCC was working to expand fibre infrastructure and broadband access across the country to support digital payments, financial inclusion, and the broader digital economy.