A survey by Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA) says 79 per cent of Nigerian adults, about 94.2 million people, use financial products or services.

EFInA said this in its report on the 9th Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey, released on Tuesday in Abuja.

The report said formal financial inclusion had reached 73 per cent, exceeding the 70 per cent target under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

The Board Chairman of EFInA, Agnes Martins, described the survey as providing insight that administrative data could not capture.

Ms Martins said administrative data could show accounts, transactions, infrastructure and providers, while the A2F Survey showed the people behind the numbers.

She cautioned against designing financial services around national averages, noting that needs differed by income, gender, geography, age and economic activity.

The report quoted the Director, Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Central Bank of Nigeria, Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, as saying the survey’s evidence was indispensable to policy design.

She said the evidence was also important for market development, consumer protection and effective targeting of financial sector reforms.

Ms Isa-Olatinwo said the survey had shifted the focus of the sector towards achieving meaningful outcomes beyond access.

“The policy challenge before us is therefore no longer simply to open accounts or expand access points.

“It is to ensure meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust and measurable improvement in financial health,” Ms Isa-Olatinwo said.

The Director-General, National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran,  welcomed the increase in pension participation from eight per cent of adults in 2023 to 9.1 per cent.

“Roughly nine out of every 10 Nigerians are not covered for the day; they can no longer work,” she said.

She called on EFInA to work with the commission to develop a dedicated pension inclusion model.

Ms Oloworaran said opening an account did not constitute pension inclusion because an unfunded account would not provide dignity in retirement.

The Chief Executive Officer of EFInA, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, said digital financial services reached 64.4 per cent of adults, up from 45 per cent in 2023 and 34 per cent in 2020.

Ms Akinjayeju said the rise represented the largest movement recorded in the survey, adding that digital use was associated with better financial outcomes.

She said 33 per cent of digital users were financially healthy, compared with 9.1 per cent of non-users.

Ms Akinjayeju called for national targets that would measure impact alongside access to and use of financial services.

The Research Lead, EFInA, Oluwatomi Eromosele, said the A2F 2026 Survey showed that Nigeria’s financial inclusion challenge had changed.

Ms Eromosele said the next phase must focus on reaching people and places where gaps remained.

She said existing financial relationships should be turned into pathways to credit, protection, investment and financial security.

The research lead stressed the need to ensure that financial inclusion strengthened people’s resilience and economic opportunities.

“We now have the evidence; the priority is to use it to focus on action where it can make the greatest difference,” Ms Eromosele said.

EFInA is a financial sector deepening organisation that promotes inclusive finance in Nigeria.

(NAN)