“Cash should no longer be king,” CBN launches initiative to drive 95% financial inclusion by 2028

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has said the apex bank is targeting 95 percent financial inclusion and fraud losses of less than 0.001 percent of total digital transactions by 2028.

Cardoso spoke on Monday at the launch of the Payments System Vision (PSV) 2028 in Abuja.

According to the CBN governor, the strategy seeks to expand access to financial services, accelerate digital payments and strengthen consumer confidence in the financial system.

“The journey is to impact on the lives of the poor. That’s part of it and a major part of it. The journey is to lift people out of poverty, and the journey is to have an impact on GDP,” he said.

Cardoso said Nigeria’s payments infrastructure has already made significant progress, noting that the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) processes millions of instant payments daily, with most transactions settling in less than 10 seconds.

“By 2028, our target is simple. Every Nigerian from Maiduguri to Brass will send and receive money faster than they can blink,” he said.

The CBN governor said the bank wants to raise financial inclusion to 95 percent by 2028.

“Inclusion and not exclusion,” Cardoso said.

“That means 50 million more market women, farmers, and young people will have a bank account or wallet in their name with their name and BVN protecting them.”

Cardoso also said the apex bank intends to reduce reliance on cash and improve trust in digital transactions.

“Cash should no longer be king. By 2028, we must commit to cutting fraud losses to less than 0.001 percent of all transactions,” he said.

He added that stronger identity verification systems, BVN integration and artificial intelligence-powered fraud detection would play a key role in achieving the target.

“Vision 2028 is not a government project. It is a Nigerian project. Together, we will build a payments system that is fast, inclusive, secure and proudly Nigerian,” the apex bank chief added.

Cardoso said the goals would be achieved through expanded access to financial services, stronger identity verification systems, artificial intelligence-driven fraud detection and continued innovation in the payments ecosystem.