•Aims to onboard 50 million unbanked Nigerians
••deploys AI fraud detection
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday unveiled the Payments System Vision (PSV) 2028, setting targets to raise financial inclusion to 95 percent and cut fraud losses on digital transactions to below 0.001 percent by 2028.
Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, said the strategy aims to expand access to financial services, accelerate digital payments and strengthen consumer confidence in the financial system. Speaking at the launch in Abuja, he said the plan is intended to lift people out of poverty and support GDP growth.
“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,” Cardoso said.
Cardoso highlighted recent improvements in payments infrastructure, noting that the Nigeria Inter‑Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) now processes millions of instant payments daily, with most transactions settling in under 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 added.
The CBN said its inclusion target will focus on bringing 50 million more market women, farmers and young people into the formal payments system with accounts or wallets linked to BVN (Bank Verification Number) for identity protection. The bank also intends to reduce reliance on cash and build greater trust in digital payments.
“Cash should no longer be king. By 2028, we must commit to cutting fraud losses to less than 0.001 percent of all transactions,” Cardoso said, outlining plans to strengthen identity verification, expand BVN integration and deploy artificial‑intelligence‑powered fraud detection tools.
Cardoso described Vision 2028 as a national initiative rather than a government project and called for collaboration across the public and private sectors to build a payments system that is fast, inclusive and secure.
The CBN said implementation will combine expanded access to financial services, improved identity systems, AI‑driven fraud monitoring and continued innovation across the payments ecosystem.
