Sanusi: Delaying Telcos' Entry Into Financial Services Was One of My Regrets at CBN

Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, says delaying the entry of telecommunications companies into financial services remains one of his regrets from his time at the apex bank.

Sanusi said this on Wednesday at the launch of the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA). "One of my regrets as CBN governor was delaying telcos' entry into financial services," he said.

Telcos already had the reach

According to Sanusi, telecom companies already possessed the infrastructure, customer reach and distribution networks that could have accelerated access to financial services, particularly in underserved and rural communities.

His admission comes as telecommunications companies and their financial-services subsidiaries play an increasingly visible role in Nigeria's digital payments and financial-inclusion landscape.

But Sanusi warned against measuring inclusion by the number of Nigerians who own bank accounts or can make digital transfers. "Opening an account and moving money is not the same thing as earning money or moving people out of poverty," he said.

He argued that financial services must be tied closely to productive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing to create jobs, raise incomes and deliver broader economic benefits.

Kano groundnut farmers and the Argentina example

Using groundnut farmers in Kano as an example, Sanusi said a company producing ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnourished children had to import peanuts from Argentina because local farmers could not supply the required quality.

He said simply connecting those farmers to digital financial platforms would not solve the underlying problem. Farmers need training, improved production standards and stronger links to manufacturers and buyers capable of creating sustainable demand for their produce.

For Sanusi, effective financial inclusion should build bridges between producers, markets, manufacturers and financial institutions, rather than focus solely on opening accounts.

Inflation, fintech data and the savings gap

Sanusi also called on the CBN to keep its focus on price stability, warning that high inflation can severely undermine household savings and long-term wealth creation.

"There is no enemy to savings, no enemy to wealth that is bigger than inflation," he said.

He advocated greater use of transaction data generated by fintech companies and payment service providers to build savings, pension and insurance products for Nigerians outside traditional banking relationships.

According to him, platforms with extensive transaction data and rural reach could create systems that let users direct small amounts from everyday transactions towards savings, pensions or insurance. He suggested that even N100 from a transaction could be channelled into such products where the right systems exist.

Sanusi added that accessible insurance products could protect traders against losses from incidents such as market fires, while farmers could get cover against crop failures.

His comments carry weight for Nigeria's payments market, where telco-backed platforms already sit at the centre of transfers and airtime-linked credit. If regulators and operators pull more transaction data into savings, pension and insurance products, the naira value of everyday payments could be put to work in ways that go beyond simply moving money.