Only 10.6% of formally included Nigerians can raise N156,000 in a week, EFInA survey finds

Nigeria's formal financial inclusion rate climbed to 73% in 2026, but only 10.6% of formally included adults can raise N156,000 within seven days without difficulty, according to the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), weighted by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The gap between having an account and being financially secure is the central finding of the report. Formal financial inclusion rose from 64% in 2023 and 56% in 2020, surpassing the 70% target set under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. About 87.2 million Nigerian adults are now formally financially included. Overall financial inclusion, covering formal and informal access, rose to 79% in 2026 from 74% in 2023 and 68% in 2020.

Access grows, financial health lags

Only 30.7% of formally included adults were classified as financially healthy, leaving about 60.4 million people vulnerable or merely coping. Just 3.7% of adults outside the formal financial system could raise N156,000 within a week without difficulty.

Overall, only about one in four Nigerian adults was considered financially healthy, creating a 48-percentage-point gap between formal financial inclusion and financial health. EFInA described the trend as "participation without progress", warning that expanding access without improving financial wellbeing could leave many Nigerians exposed to economic shocks.

Borrowing shifts to coping and consumption

Formal credit usage increased from 6% of adults in 2023 to about 10% in 2026, representing roughly 11.9 million people. But the purpose of that borrowing has changed.

The share of formal borrowers taking loans for coping or consumption rose from 31.7% in 2023 to 40.8% in 2026. Productive enterprise borrowing fell from 40.2% to 34.3%, while household-asset borrowing declined from 25.2% to 23.4%.

That marks a sharp reversal from 2023, when productive borrowing was 8.5 percentage points higher than coping and consumption borrowing. By 2026, coping and consumption borrowing had moved 6.5 percentage points ahead.

Formal credit use among informally employed Nigerians rose from 5% to 15%. Among adults aged 18 to 35, formal credit usage doubled from 4% to 10%.

Repayment stress builds

Greater access to loans is also creating pressure. About 45.8% of formal-credit users reported some or serious repayment stress, while 83.8% said they were experiencing ongoing financial stress.

The numbers point to a household sector that can reach financial services but cannot absorb shocks. For the naira and for Nigerian businesses, that matters. Consumers borrowing to cope rather than to build leaves less room for demand, and a workforce under repayment pressure has less capacity to spend. EFInA's warning is blunt. Access alone is not progress if the money cannot be raised when it is needed.