The Central Bank of Nigeria unveiled a new payments roadmap in 2024 aiming to digitize more than $21 billion in annual diaspora remittances and establish Nigeria as a leading African digital payments hub by 2028. According to the bank, the strategy seeks to increase formal remittance channels to 80% and reduce costs to 5% or below to retain more inflows within the formal financial system.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new payments roadmap, outlined in the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document, aims to increase the share of diaspora remittances flowing through formal channels to 80% by 2028 while reducing remittance costs to 5% or below, officials said. The strategy also targets a 75% formal remittance share by 2027 and seeks to route 50% of intra-African trade payments through digital channels by 2028.
Nigeria received approximately $20 billion in diaspora remittances in 2023, according to the World Bank figures cited by African Business.
This was slightly below the $21 billion recorded in 2022. The CBN’s digital payments push is framed around the country’s annual remittance inflow exceeding $21 billion, with a CBN-linked video briefing citing remittances at $20.93 billion in 2024, representing about 6% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
To support the digitalization of remittances, the CBN plans to collaborate with Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to introduce incentives such as trade credits and utility bonuses for Nigerians abroad who remit funds through eNaira-enabled platforms, according to the roadmap. The bank also intends to interconnect Nigeria with African and global instant payment systems by the first quarter of 2027 to facilitate cross-border account-to-account payments. Fintech wallet incentive programs are scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2026, and the vision includes integrating Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and regulated stablecoins into Nigeria’s payment ecosystem.
In May 2025, the CBN and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) launched the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) platform to improve financial inclusion for Nigerians in the diaspora. The platform allows Nigerians abroad to obtain a Bank Verification Number (BVN) without traveling to Nigeria, using remote digital enrollment, identity verification, and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks that meet international compliance standards. Users can select a bank and continue account opening through the bank’s digital platform, with remittances routed through integrated payment gateways, NIBSS officials confirmed.
Earlier policy shifts by the CBN have included granting international money transfer operators (IMTOs) such as Western Union, MoneyGram, and Ria access to the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) as of June 2024. This measure was aimed at widening access to local-currency liquidity for the timely settlement of diaspora remittances, allowing IMTOs to access naira value in real time at prevailing exchange rates, according to CBN statements.
In June 2023, the CBN introduced a framework allowing the eNaira to be used as a payment option for diaspora remittance recipients, with eNaira payouts running alongside dollar payouts on an optional basis. Under this framework, IMTOs were required to obtain a one-time “No-Objection” from the CBN to pay out in eNaira and had to open merchant wallets through the CBN, pre-funding these accounts with foreign currency. The CBN would then fund the IMTO merchant wallet with the eNaira equivalent of the pre-funded foreign currency, enabling senders to initiate transfers abroad while beneficiaries received value in an eNaira wallet in Nigeria. The CBN stated that the eNaira and naira have the same value and can be exchanged at a one-to-one rate.
The roadmap also indicates that the CBN is considering allowing qualified PSPs to act as authorized liquidity providers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market for legitimate trade and remittance flows, subject to prudential requirements. The bank plans to implement a standardized reporting framework requiring PSPs to disclose cross-border inflows, outflows, and counterparties to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance and improve visibility into foreign-exchange liquidity, according to the document.
These measures align with earlier CBN efforts to deepen the foreign exchange market, enhance transparency, and ensure recipients receive market-reflective rates. The CBN’s phased approach to integrating digital payments, incentivizing formal channels, and improving regulatory oversight reflects a broader policy direction toward modernizing Nigeria’s financial infrastructure and retaining more diaspora inflows within the formal financial system.
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