Nigeria’s expanding access to formal financial services is increasingly being accompanied by financial stress, rising reliance on credit for basic needs and weak household resilience, according to a new survey.
The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), weighted by the National Bureau of Statistics, found that while formal financial inclusion has risen significantly, a large proportion of Nigerians remain financially vulnerable.
The survey showed that formal financial inclusion reached 73 per cent in 2026, surpassing the 70 per cent target under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
However, only 30.7 per cent of formally included adults were classified as financially healthy, leaving about 60.4 million adults either financially vulnerable or merely coping with their financial circumstances.
The findings suggest that access to bank accounts, digital payments and other formal financial services has not necessarily translated into stronger financial wellbeing for millions of Nigerians.
Overall financial inclusion, including both formal and informal channels, increased to 79 per cent in 2026 from 74 per cent in 2023 and 68 per cent in 2020.
Formal inclusion rose to approximately 87.2 million adults, compared with 64 per cent in 2023 and 56 per cent in 2020.
A major driver of the expansion was the rapid growth of digital financial services. Usage increased from 45 per cent in 2023 to 64.4 per cent in 2026, meaning about 77 million adults now use digital financial services.
But the survey identified a significant gap between financial access and financial security.
Only about one-quarter of Nigerian adults were financially healthy, despite the much higher level of formal inclusion. The 48-percentage-point gap highlights the risk of measuring financial progress primarily by access to financial products.
The survey described the situation as “participation without progress,” warning that increased participation in the financial system may not automatically improve people’s ability to withstand financial shocks.
Nigerians Struggle to Raise Emergency Cash
The country’s financial resilience also remains weak.
Only 10.6 per cent of formally included adults said they could raise N156,000 within seven days without difficulty. Among adults outside the formal financial system, the figure was just 3.7 per cent.
The weakness in household finances is also reflected in how Nigerians are using credit.
Formal credit usage increased to 10 per cent of adults, representing approximately 11.9 million people. Although this was an improvement from six per cent in 2023, it remains significantly below the 40 per cent target set under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
More concerning is the growing use of formal borrowing to meet immediate financial needs.
Borrowing for coping and consumption increased from 31.7 per cent in 2023 to 40.8 per cent in 2026.
By contrast, borrowing for productive enterprises declined from 40.2 per cent to 34.3 per cent, while borrowing for household assets fell from 25.2 per cent to 23.4 per cent.
The shift represents a significant change in borrowing behaviour. In 2023, productive enterprise borrowing was 8.5 percentage points higher than coping and consumption borrowing.
By 2026, the situation had reversed, with coping and consumption borrowing exceeding productive enterprise borrowing by 6.5 percentage points — a swing of about 15 percentage points.
Repayment Pressure Mounts
The increased dependence on credit is occurring against a backdrop of widespread financial stress.
About 45.8 per cent of formal credit users reported experiencing some level of repayment difficulty or serious repayment stress.
Overall, 83.8 per cent of respondents said they experienced ongoing financial stress.
The trend is also becoming more pronounced among groups traditionally considered less connected to formal financial services.
Formal credit usage among informally employed Nigerians jumped from five per cent in 2023 to 15 per cent in 2026.
Among young Nigerians aged 18 to 35, formal credit usage doubled from four per cent to 10 per cent over the same period.
Access Growing, Financial Security Lagging
The survey, which covered 18,679 adults across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, shows that Nigeria has made considerable progress in bringing more people into the formal financial system.
However, the findings indicate that the next challenge may be less about access and more about ensuring that financial services help households build savings, withstand emergencies, invest in productive activities and reduce financial stress.
While banking and digital financial services have expanded rapidly, insurance and pension coverage remain comparatively weak.
The findings therefore suggest that Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda may need to move beyond simply increasing the number of people using formal financial services to improving the quality of that participation and its impact on household financial wellbeing.
