The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has ordered the banks to raise the quality of their products and services to in order attract more people into the financial system.
The CBN Governor who was represented by CBN Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Chibuike Nwagerue at the release of the 2023 EFInA Access to Finance (A2F) Survey results in Lagos, stated thus:
“As an ecosystem, we must redouble our efforts to develop innovative solutions to enable inclusion and be intentional about how we do it.
For instance, the access points effective for included populations might not be suitable for those currently excluded. The products and services that we have developed to get us this far will need refinement to ensure that they are fit for purpose for the next phase of this journey.”
“However, to achieve the target of 95 percent financial inclusion, we must all move from collaboration to concrete commitment. To that effect, I call on all Financial Inclusion implementation agencies to set up specific functions or units dedicated to financial inclusion in their various organizations. This we believe, will provide the necessary ownership and commitment required to achieve our collective goal”.
“To buttress the importance of Financial Inclusion to National development, over 68 countries have developed and are currently implementing a National Financial Inclusion Strategy. At its core, financial inclusion provides the opportunity for equitable distribution of financial resources to support economic growth. It also contributes to the attainment of the Central Bank’s goals of monetary policy and price stability. An inclusive financial system that allows broad access to a wide range of formal financial services is essential for better transmission of monetary policy and in the attainment of its objectives”.