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Following two years of coordinated regulatory reforms, Nigeria has cleared a major reputational hurdle after being removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. With the milestone achieved, the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) says the country is now focusing on strengthening its fintech ecosystem and positioning itself as a standard-setter for digital finance in Africa.
The CBN’s Fintech Policy Insight Report, released in February 2026, outlines the next phase of reforms aimed at boosting investor confidence, strengthening fraud prevention systems, and improving regulatory oversight across Nigeria’s rapidly expanding financial technology sector.
Rebuilding Trust in Nigerian Fintech
For many Nigerian fintech companies, the cost of operating internationally has often extended beyond licensing fees or compliance audits. Being associated with a country on the FATF grey list frequently triggered heightened scrutiny from foreign banks, investors, and payment platforms.
The CBN report acknowledges that reputational challenges have affected global perceptions of Nigerian fintech firms. It notes, however, that a significant proportion of digital financial crimes attributed to Nigeria are carried out by foreign or cross-border actors using the country as an operational base or proxy rather than as the true origin of the fraud.
The central bank says addressing these perceptions requires building credibility through stronger systems, verifiable reforms, and greater transparency in financial oversight.
How Nigeria Exited the FATF Grey List
Nigeria was formally removed from the FATF grey list during a plenary meeting in Paris on October 24, 2025, after completing a 19-point action plan designed to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.
The reform programme involved multiple government agencies and was coordinated largely by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
As part of the process, the NFIU upgraded its goAML financial intelligence platform, improved data-sharing mechanisms among regulatory agencies, and strengthened collaboration with the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the regional FATF body.
By the time of the October 2025 plenary, Nigeria had achieved either “Compliant” or “Largely Compliant” status on 37 of the FATF’s 40 recommendations.
Research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that countries placed on the FATF grey list often experience a reduction in capital inflows averaging about 7.6% of GDP, largely due to higher compliance costs and risk-avoidance by international banks.
With Nigeria’s removal from the list, foreign financial institutions are no longer required to apply automatic enhanced due diligence to Nigerian transactions, potentially lowering the cost of cross-border business.
The European Commission has also indicated that Nigeria will be removed from its list of high-risk third countries, meaning additional anti-money laundering scrutiny under EU regulations will no longer apply to Nigerian financial institutions.
Strengthening the Infrastructure Behind Digital Finance
While the grey list exit marks a major milestone, the CBN report emphasises the underlying infrastructure that supports Nigeria’s digital financial system.
According to the report, Nigeria processed nearly 11 billion transactions through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Instant Payment platform in 2024, more than double the five billion transactions recorded in 2022.
This growth places Nigeria among the leading adopters of real-time payment systems globally. More than a quarter of all electronic transactions in the country now occur through real-time payment channels built on infrastructure first introduced in 2011.
To strengthen fraud prevention, the report highlights several security frameworks already in operation.
These include the Central Industry Fraud Desk, known as HAWK, hosted by NIBSS, which provides early warnings and coordinates multi-institutional responses to financial threats. Other tools include the Bank Verification Number (BVN) watchlisting system and the Persons of Interest Portal, which allow financial institutions to monitor flagged accounts more closely.
The CBN is also developing Project Stallion, a national Cyber Security Operations Centre designed to enhance the sector’s ability to detect and respond to cyber threats.
Toward a Shared Fraud Defence Framework
The report proposes integrating these initiatives into a Shared Fraud Defence Framework that would enable near real-time intelligence sharing among licensed financial institutions and create a unified repository for fraudulent accounts.
In addition, the central bank is proposing a Fintech Trust and Safety Charter that would establish minimum standards for data protection, responsible use of artificial intelligence, and consumer complaint resolution.
Companies that comply with the charter could receive faster access to regulatory sandbox programmes and innovation pilots.
According to the CBN, the framework follows the same design principle used in the successful rollout of the Bank Verification Number (BVN): building shared infrastructure that raises security and compliance standards across the entire financial system.
With its grey list exit secured, Nigeria is now looking to leverage these systems not only to strengthen its fintech sector but also to help shape digital finance standards across the African continent.
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