CBN Reaffirms Commitment to Financial Inclusion, Productivity — Cardoso

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to driving financial inclusion and stimulating productivity as part of efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this during a sensitisation fair held in Kano to educate the public on policies introduced by the bank to improve livelihoods and contribute to Nigeria’s economic progress.

Represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Ali, Cardoso said the bank has rolled out reforms already yielding positive results, including increased inflows of foreign investments, improved trade balances, and notable progress in financial inclusion.

She highlighted some of these policies to include exchange rate unification, bank recapitalisation, the Nigeria Payments System Vision, and the Unified Complaints Tracking System (UCTS), among others.

According to her, “The management of the Bank, under the leadership of Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, is committed to stimulating productivity and deepening financial inclusiveness while delivering on its core mandate of monetary and price stability. These efforts are producing results, such as improved foreign investment inflows, positive trade balances, and progress in financial inclusion.”

Since assuming office two years ago, Cardoso has spearheaded key initiatives to strengthen the financial system. These include exchange rate unification to reduce volatility in the forex market and clearing over $7 billion verified FX forward backlogs.

Other reforms include the bank recapitalisation programme aimed at boosting the resilience and global competitiveness of Nigerian banks to support the envisioned $1 trillion economy.

Additionally, the CBN introduced the non-resident BVN to connect Nigerians abroad with local banking, launched the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV 2028) to accelerate digital transformation and deepen inclusion, and rolled out the Unified Complaints Tracking System (UCTS) to enhance consumer protection and transparency.

Alongside this, a USSD code (*959#) was introduced to help verify licensed institutions and build trust within the financial sector.