The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is moving to dismantle regulatory bottlenecks that slow fintech innovation, proposing a Single Regulatory Window and a shared Compliance-as-a-Service model to streamline multi-agency licensing and supervision.
According to the CBN’s 2025 Fintech Report, the reforms are aimed at dramatically reducing time-to-market for digital financial products by cutting duplicative reporting, improving supervisory visibility, and simplifying interactions between fintechs and regulators. The bank said the initiative responds directly to challenges raised by industry players and is intended to support fintechs as a key pillar of Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy.
The report found that 62.5% of fintech firms say regulatory timelines materially delay product rollouts, and more than one-third report taking over 12 months to bring new products to market—largely due to compliance hurdles. Stakeholders flagged approval delays and regulatory ambiguity as their top concerns.
To tackle these issues, the CBN recommends exploring a Single Regulatory Window to harmonize multi-agency compliance and reviewing approval timelines and operational guidelines. The report also urges reconsideration of the Payment Service Bank (PSB) framework or the introduction of a dedicated digital banking licence, with many respondents arguing a digital bank licence would be a more effective route for expanding inclusive lending under stronger prudential oversight.
On digital assets, the CBN signalled a shift toward a more nuanced, risk-based, activity-focused framework that balances innovation with financial integrity. The report notes broad industry agreement that regulators should avoid treating all crypto activity as criminal while remaining vigilant about illicit flows and consumer protection, particularly given crypto’s potential to lower cross-border costs and boost remittances.
The proposed reforms are designed to reduce friction, accelerate innovation, and give fintechs the regulatory clarity needed to scale—while strengthening safeguards to protect consumers and the financial system.
