Business
CBN Targets 80% Financial Inclusion By 2020
The Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) has restated its commitment to meeting the target of attaining 80 per cent financial inclusion among Nigerians by year 2020.
The apex bank in a statement issued on Monday said the target was in line with the Maya declaration to reduce the financial exclusion rate in Nigeria from N46.3 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent by 2020.
The statement signed by the bank’s Deputy Governor, Financial System stability, Dr Kingsley Moghalu said that a significant component of economic transactions in Nigeria were not captured in the formal financial system, stressing that it was in view of this, that various intervention measures were being put in place by the apex bank to facilitate accessibility of financial services.
Moghalu said that access to finance alone could not bring about financial inclusion, adding that trust and confidence could engender the needed inclusion among Nigerians to make them effectively use the financial services offered by the various commercial and development banks in the country.
He said that financial transactions carried out outside the formal financial system always have negative consequences for Nigerians and on the economic development of the country.
The CBN’s deputy Governor said the apex bank deemed it necessary to increase the level of awareness and understanding of financial products and services, to enhance their efficient usage but also to empower Nigerians with the necessary informed knowledge.