Business
Nigeria Records N700bn Mobile Money Transactions In Three Years
Nigeria has recorded a to
tal transaction of N700 billion through the mobile money banking system since 2012, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official said in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Director, Banking and Payment Systems Department, CBN, Mr Dipo Fatokun, made the statement in a presentation at a workshop on Mobile Money and Emerging Payment System masterclass to lawyers.
Fatokun, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the department, Mr Jimoh Itopa, said the apex bank had licensed 23 mobile money operators in the country.
He said the operators currently conducted transactions valued at about N30 million monthly.
Fatokun said, “apart from the 23 mobile money operators, there were about 80,000 mobile agents spread across the federation that have been given approval to carry out mobile money transactions.
“We have licensed 23 mobile money banking operators and on a monthly basis, these operators conduct a total transaction of about N30 million monthly.
“In addition, there are over 80,000 mobile agents where people can also go and conduct mobile money transactions.”
Fatokun said to ensure the safety and stability of the mobile money banking system, the apex bank was collaborating with Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to insure the fund.
“The NDIC deposit policy doesn’t cover these funds. So we have to work with NDIC to see how we can institute a pass-through Insurance policy.
“This means that, even though the money is sitting in one account, it represents the deposits of various subscribers.
“This will recognise the contributors to that pool, that every single individual who has contributed in that pool will be recognised and compensated in the event that the bank is liquidated.
“So this has put confidence in the subscribers that their money is safe,’’ he said.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the workshop was strategic in training lawyers in order to help the bank strengthen the mobile money banking system.
Emefiele was represented by a Deputy Director in the Legal Department of CBN, Mr Mohammed Suleiman.
He said that legal issues might arise due to mobile money banking and that was why lawyers needed to be a part of it.
The CBN governor said for effective licensing of mobile money transaction, the CBN was also reviewing the regulatory frameworks and guidelines for mobile money services in the country.
The main objective of the review, he said was to provide enabling environment for the adoption of mobile payment services.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
