Nigeria’s fintech industry underwent a defining transformation in 2025, shaped by tighter regulation, landmark investments and key industry milestones that signalled a maturing digital finance ecosystem.
The first three quarters of the year were marked by decisive interventions from major regulators aimed at formalising and sanitising the fast-growing fintech space.
In July, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) introduced the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025.
The binding framework formalised the digital lending space by mandating a compulsory registration of lending apps, transparent disclosure of interest rates, and the prohibition of exploitative recovery practices such as accessing customers’ contacts or photos.
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The agency also reserved the power to review interest rates to prevent predatory lending.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) followed with major directives affecting payments infrastructure. PoS terminals were required to be geo-tagged and operated strictly within a defined radius of their registered business locations, a move aimed at reducing fraud and improving traceability.
The apex bank also advanced Nigeria’s transition to ISO 20022, the global messaging standard expected to significantly improve data quality and interoperability across the financial system.
Earlier in January, the CBN had launched the Nigeria FX Code, a rulebook designed to enhance transparency in the official foreign exchange (FX) market. Earlier in January, the CBN introduced the Nigeria FX Code, a rulebook designed to strengthen transparency and discipline in the official foreign exchange market.
New diaspora products, such as Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary and Investment Accounts, were also launched to ease remittances and investment inflows from abroad.
Despite a more selective global funding environment, Nigerian fintechs continued to attract strategic capital. In January, Moniepoint secured a strategic investment from Visa, aimed at accelerating its African expansion and integrating Visa’s Cybersource for more secure merchant payments. That same month, PiggyVest announced it had surpassed N2 trillion in total payouts since inception, marking one of the largest milestones in Nigeria’s digital savings history.
The first quarter (Q1) of 2025 saw Nigeria and Kenya jointly dominate Africa’s venture funding landscape, each accounting for about 24 percent of total capital raised.
Fintech remained the continent’s strongest investment magnet.
Nigeria’s domestic market also expanded rapidly. As of May 2025, several fintech apps had crossed 10 million downloads. OPay surged past 50 million, confirming the mainstreaming of digital financial services.
A major infrastructure milestone came in November when NIBSS, in partnership with PalmPay and a Tier-2 bank, executed the first live transaction on the National Payment Stack (NPS), which signals a new era of real-time, interoperable payments.
October had the Nigeria Fintech Week 2025, themed ‘Fintech Ecosystem Symphony: Orchestrating Nigeria’s Digital Future,’ which emphasised collaboration and the rise of AI-driven financial services.
Industry leaders at the event renewed calls for a National Fintech Committee to streamline regulatory approvals, strengthen sandboxes, and support cross-border expansion.
Fintechs continued diversifying beyond payments. Paga expanded SME-facing tools, Moniepoint consolidated its unicorn status by processing over one billion monthly transactions, and several companies deepened their use of AI for credit scoring, personalisation, and fraud prevention.
Controversies
The 2025 year for the fintech industry was not without controversy. In June, Paystack suspended Ezra Olubi, its co-founder, following sexual misconduct allegations, one of the industry’s most high-profile internal actions.
In governance and public-sector innovation, the Federal Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) named PalmPay the Digital Governance Company of the Year 2025 for its contributions to digital service delivery.
Nigeria also tightened cash withdrawal limits as part of efforts to curb money laundering risks, placing further emphasis on digital payments.
The Nigerian Fintech industry still has ongoing hurdles of broadband deficit, long regulatory approval timelines, and gaps in digital identity systems.
As Nigeria sets its sights on a fully fledged digital economy, 2026 may mark the beginning of a deeper, more consolidated phase of fintech-led transformation.
