By Bassey Udo
To develop an inclusive economy, Africa must a payment system that allows the people move money easily, affordably, and safely, across towns, borders, and continents to enable them fully participate in modern economic life, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has said.
The CBN governor said this while delivering a keynote address on “Digital Cross-Border Payments, Global Finance, and Economic Transformation – Opportunities and Risks”, at the ongoing 2026 G-24 Technical Group Meetings in Abuja. The meeting has as its theme: “Mobilizing finance for sustainable, inclusive, and job-rich transformation.”
Cardoso who noted that an economy cannot be more inclusive than its payment system, said building such a payment system was crucial time at a when technological shifts are transforming global trade, payments, and financial integration across the globe.
Let me at this juncture, commend Nigeria’s Chairmanship under the strong leadership of the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, for articulating a G-24 vision anchored on modernizing global finance, strengthening domestic capacities, and ensuring that the digital transition becomes a force for shared prosperity. These priorities resonate deeply with the mandate of central banks across the G-24 countries.
Across the world, he said cross‑border payments are becoming the backbone of the international monetary and financial system, pointing out that for G‑24 economies, inefficiencies in these systems translate directly into higher remittance costs, costly foreign exchange transactions, fragmented settlement processes, and barriers to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) participation in global trade.
Consequently, he said improving cross‑border payments is not simply a technical reform, but a macroeconomic and development priority, to ensure that the channels through which capital, remittances and trade flows move, formed a critical part of global financial stability architecture.
Today, he observed that cross‑border payments remain too slow, too costly, and too fragmented, especially for developing economies, with global remittance corridors costing over 6 percent, settlement lags of several days, and compliance burdens that exclude MSMEs, while millions remain disconnected from global opportunities.
He said digital innovation, which allows for modern payments infrastructure, instant payment systems, interoperable digital platforms, distributed ledger technology, and robust digital identity frameworks, now presents a historic opportunity to correct these frictions.
Highlighting the inherent benefits of a modern payment system, the CBN governor said it included a reduction of transaction costs for remittances and trade; shortening of settlement times; improvement of transparency, compliance, and auditability; expansion of access for households and MSMEs traditionally excluded from the formal financial system.
In terms of interoperable of digital systems, he said it will strengthen the transmission of monetary policy, expand financial inclusion, and reduce informality, if designed with resilience and strong governance.
He cited the examples of what is happening in India, with its Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which now linked with Singapore and the UAE, and has slashed remittance costs and enabled ubiquitous real‑time settlement.
Besides, he said Brazil’s PIX, adopted by over 70% of adults within two years, is currently being integrated into cross‑border pilots across Latin America, adding that these examples show what was achievable for G‑24 members, including lower costs, better liquidity, stronger SMEs, job creation, and deeper regional integration.
Back home, he said Nigeria’s experience shows that the potential could be realized through deliberate and sustained policy action.
At the CBN, a systematically modernized regulatory and supervisory frameworks have been established to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital financial landscape.
“We strengthened operational oversight of switching and payment infrastructure providers, enhanced agent banking regulations to better address AML/CFT risks, and significantly improved interoperability across payment channels to support efficiency and scale.
Building on these reforms, he said the CBN is currently concluding work on the new Payment System Vision 2028, developed in close collaboration with industry stakeholders and built around five strategic priorities aimed at boosting innovation, strengthening system resilience, and advancing financial inclusion.
A central part of this agenda, he said, was improving the cross‑border payments environment, where Nigeria has made concrete, measurable progress.
To deepen regional integration, Cardoso said the CBN introduced the simplified know your customer (KYC)/anti-money laundry (AML) requirements for low‑value cross‑border transactions to encourage broader participation in Pan‑African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
This, he said, has eased transaction processes for Nigerian SMEs, by reducing paperwork and enabling faster, more seamless intra‑African trade payments.
“We have also embraced fintech innovation to drive the next generation of secure, instant cross‑border payments. Our Regulatory Sandbox now allows payment‑focused fintechs to test new cross‑border solutions under close CBN supervision, ensuring innovation proceeds without compromising stability.
“In June 2025, Nigeria launched the National Payment Stack, our next‑generation real‑time payment system built on ISO 20022 messaging and designed to support multi‑currency and cross‑border transactions.
“We have also strengthened our AML/CFT frameworks in line with FATF guidelines, requiring strict dual‑screening of cross‑border transactions to mitigate risks”, he said.
On remittances, he said the CBN has worked with domestic and international stakeholders in 2024 to remove long‑standing bottlenecks and expand efficient corridors.
This development, he said, led to the introduction of new instruments such as the Non‑Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account (NRNOA) for remittances and family support, the Non‑Resident Nigerian Investment Account (NRNIA) for diaspora investments, and the Non‑Resident BVN platform to allow Nigerians abroad to open and service accounts digitally.
“As a result of these reforms, remittance inflows now average about $600 million per month, and we are confident of reaching a $1 billion monthly milestone in the near term,” he disclosed.
Beyond regulation, the CBN governor said the Bank has engaged globally, through platforms like the Strategic Fintech Dialogue at the 2025 IMF annual Meetings, to ensure Nigeria contributes to shaping emerging global standards.
Acknowledging the benefits of digital financial reforms in the Nigerian banking system, Cardoso said the system has supported millions of new entrants into Nigeria’s formal financial system, strengthened confidence, and improved market integrity.
Extending these gains across borders, he pointed out, represents the next frontier for inclusive growth, provided it is underpinned by robust regulation and strong institutions.
Beyond efficiency gains, he said digital cross-border payments are reshaping global finance, as it has enabled local-currency settlement in cross-border trades; create new channels for South-South financial integration; ensure reduced dependence on a limited set of reserve currencies, and allow more efficient transmission of global and regional capital flows.
He said Africa’s experience with the PAPSS offers a powerful lesson for the G‑24 in building modern, inclusive payment systems, as it has shown how developing regions can create home‑grown, interoperable infrastructure capable of reducing reliance on external correspondent banks, lowers settlement costs, and enables instant local‑currency cross‑border payments.
PAPSS, he noted, is already deepening regional value chains, supporting MSMEs under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and strengthening macro‑financial resilience through wider use of local currencies.
However, he warned against the dangers of digital payments systems, as their opportunities come with equally significant risks.
The expansion of private digital payment platforms and stablecoins, he said, raises concerns about currency substitution and weakened monetary transmission; increased FX volatility and capital flow pressures; systemic importance of non-bank payment providers as well as regulatory arbitrage and fragmentation.
Without proper coordination, the CBN governor said digital cross-border payments risk would become fragmented across jurisdictions, entrenching dominant currencies and platforms, reducing interoperability, increasing costs and undermining the ability of Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) to safeguard monetary sovereignty.
He warned that G‑24 countries, many with shallow markets and capacity constraints, face amplified vulnerabilities, which requires digital transition to be carefully sequenced and well‑regulated.
Central banks, he said, have the responsibilities of safeguarding monetary and financial stability; modernizing payment and settlement systems and ensuring that operators of critical financial market infrastructure serve as anchors of trust and stability.
“In the G‑24 context, central banks must also help drive job‑rich growth, productive investment, and real‑sector transformation. This requires policy coherence across monetary, fiscal, and financial reforms, echoing the G‑24’s emphasis on integrated, scalable solutions to development challenges,” he said.
In his introductory remarks, Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the economy, Wale Edun, called on the G-24 to articulate a robust reform agenda through a unified and solutions-oriented vision to navigate the complex environment.
In reforming the global financial architecture, he said the G-24 must advocate for the strengthening of the Global Financial Safety Net at the International Monetary Fund (IMF); expansion of the MDB concessional lending and revising capital adequacy rules, and prioritizing local-currency financing, digital payments modernization, and regional development banks.
Other suggestions include reforms to support countries that have lost access to international capital markets; ensuring Climate Finance Equity; demanding that climate finance be predictable, grant-based, and equitable; accelerating digital cooperation through shared digital infrastructure; mobilizing Innovative Finance; advancing Regional Value-Added Manufacturing by focusing on industrial diversification, logistics connectivity, and cross-border manufacturing zones to reduce vulnerability to external shocks and deepen South–South supply chains.
