Nigeria’s financial exclusion rate has fallen to 21% in 2026, marking a significant improvement in access to formal financial services. However, the latest EFInA report shows that the progress has not reached Nigerians equally.
The biggest gap is now concentrated among the country’s poorest households, raising a bigger question about whether having access to financial services is translating into real financial security.
Financial Inclusion Has Reached 79%
The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey found that financial inclusion increased to 79%, up from 74% in 2023, while financial exclusion dropped from 26% to 21%.
Digital financial services have also expanded, with 64% of Nigerian adults now using digital financial services. Formal financial inclusion stands at 73%.
These figures suggest that banks, fintech companies, mobile money services and other financial providers are reaching more Nigerians than before. But the headline numbers hide a major problem.
The Poorest Nigerians Are Still Being Left Out
According to the EFInA report, 53% of adults in Nigeria’s poorest wealth group remain financially excluded. Among the richest wealth group, the figure is just 1%.
Almost half of all financially excluded Nigerians are estimated to be within the poorest 20% of the population.
This means Nigeria’s next financial inclusion challenge is less about simply opening more bank accounts and more about making financial services useful and affordable for people with the least income.
The report also found that only 10% of adults have formal credit, while insurance penetration is about 5%. Pension participation is also low, at 9.1% of adults.
What Nigeria Needs to Fix Next
EFInA says its 2026 survey went beyond measuring whether Nigerians have access to financial services. It also examined financial health, resilience, economic participation and the ability of households to manage financial shocks. That shift matters because an account or mobile wallet does not automatically mean financial security.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has similarly argued that the next stage of financial inclusion must focus on affordability, reliability, safety, trust and actual improvements in financial health.
For Nigeria, the challenge now is reaching the people who remain outside the system and ensuring that financial inclusion gives them more than access. It needs to help them save, borrow, insure themselves and withstand economic shocks.
