| By: Francis Onyemachi
Artificial Intelligence is fast emerging as a key driver of innovation, efficiency, and security in Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital payments ecosystem, reshaping how financial institutions process transactions, detect fraud, and deliver customer experiences.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that AI is no longer a future concept but a present reality already transforming the financial services landscape, while calling for stronger regulation to manage associated risks.
Speaking at the Digital Pay Expo 2026 in Lagos, CBN representatives said AI has moved beyond long-term projections to immediate application across the payment industry.
Musa Jimo, the director of Payment System Policy at the CBN, represented by the deputy director, Payment System Policy, welcomed the development while calling for proper evaluation and regulation.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept preserved for strategic planning for long-term projections. It is already sitting in our offices and devices shaping how we engage customers, market operations and also regulator activities.
“This development signals a great shift for the financial system evolving to a connected platform where infrastructure, data, entities and stakeholders operate seamlessly across institutional boundaries,” Jimo said.
He noted that AI is already serving as a core enabler within the financial ecosystem, unlocking new value, transforming service delivery, expanding opportunities, and creating employment in the financial services sector.
However, he raised concerns over transparency and explainability, stressing the importance of data quality in AI-driven systems.
He emphasised the need for balance in harnessing AI’s opportunities while managing its associated risks.
Regulation and Industry Consideration
He said:
“While this development presents opportunities, it also brings its challenges that require deliberate and coordinated attention. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in financial decisions making, the need for transparency and explainability will become more critical. AI by their nature are dependent on underlined data and when it is incomplete or unevenly distributed. There is a risk that outcomes may unintentionally deceive certain segments of the population.”
The director emphasised that embracing AI requires a careful balance between harnessing its opportunities and managing the responsibilities it entails.
The CBN, in its Payments System Vision (PSV) 2028, has identified AI as a strategic technology for building a more secure, inclusive, and globally competitive payments industry. The apex bank plans to deploy AI-driven tools to strengthen fraud prevention, combat cyber threats, and improve operational efficiency across the payments value chain.
Director, Payment System Supervision Department at the CBN, Dr. Reyika Yusuf, represented by the deputy director, Chika Ugwueze, noted that the payment ecosystem is witnessing a shift from digital adoption to digital implementation with the goal of making transactions seamless.
Ugwueze disclosed that AI is now becoming a key driver of innovation in the payment industry, assisting in fraud detection and expanding access, while calling for an enabling environment and infrastructure support to unlock the full potential of AI in the industry.
“The goal is to make financial transactions seamless.
“AI is now driving innovation, helping in real-time fraud detection and helping to expand access,” the director added.
Ugwueze noted that infrastructure gaps remain a major challenge, stressing that building a digital payment ecosystem in the age of AI requires robust infrastructure, reliable connectivity, skilled talent, and sustained capacity development.
Industry reports further underscore the growing influence of AI in the country’s payment and financial ecosystem.
According to the CBN Fintech Report 2025, nearly 90 percent of Nigerian fintechs now deploy AI-powered solutions, with fraud detection accounting for 87.5 percent of use cases.
The growing adoption comes as Nigeria’s payments industry experiences rapid expansion, driven by mobile banking, digital wallets, fintech platforms and instant payment systems.
