A recent survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access has found that formal credit access in Nigeria has nearly doubled to 10%, reflecting a growing shift towards formal financial services. The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey, conducted in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics, covered all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with over 18,600 interviews conducted between April and June 2026.
The survey showed that formal financial inclusion has risen to 73%, representing an estimated 87.2 million adults across the country. This increase in formal financial inclusion is a significant milestone, indicating a wider reach of formal financial services to more Nigerians. The survey also found significant gains among women, with formal financial inclusion among women business owners increasing from 67.5% to 76.3%.
Among women farmers, formal inclusion also rose from 42.7% to 53.6%, indicating wider access to formal financial services among groups that have traditionally faced barriers to finance. Fintech company Moniepoint said the findings reinforced the case for cash flow-based lending, which assesses borrowers based on the performance and movement of money through their businesses rather than relying primarily on conventional collateral.
Moniepoint noted that the rise in formal credit represented a wider shift in Nigeria's financial inclusion landscape, but said further expansion would be required to meet the country's National Financial Inclusion Strategy target of 40% formal credit penetration. The company said such lending models could help expand formal credit access among underserved entrepreneurs, particularly women operating in trade and agriculture.
The survey also identified trust as a major factor influencing Nigerians' use of financial services. It found that 96.9% of adults who trusted their financial service providers had carried out a financial transaction within the previous 90 days, compared with 65.6% among those who did not trust their providers. This represented a 31.3 percentage-point difference, underscoring the role of trust in sustained engagement with formal financial services.
Moniepoint's co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Tosin Eniolorunda, said expanding access would have limited impact if consumers did not trust the institutions providing financial services. He said trust had remained central to Moniepoint's approach and claimed that 83% of its users reported an improvement in their quality of life, while 85% said they had greater confidence in achieving their financial goals.
The A2F Survey has been used as a benchmark for tracking financial inclusion in Nigeria since 2008, and its 2026 edition provides data on how Nigerians save, borrow, make payments, and manage financial risks. The findings should encourage financial technology companies, commercial banks, and policymakers to focus not only on expanding access but also on designing financial products around the needs of underserved Nigerians.
Key points
- Formal credit access in Nigeria has nearly doubled to 10%.
- Women business owners and farmers have seen significant increases in formal financial inclusion.
- Trust remains a crucial factor in sustained engagement with formal financial services.
