Trust Issues, High Fees Keep 25% of Nigerians Unbanked, Says World Bank
The World Bank says twenty-five per cent of Nigerians without bank accounts have highlighted trust issues and high charges as barriers to their involvement in the formal financial system
This was indicated in the latest Global Findex Database 2025, published by the World Bank, which provides insights into financial inclusion, digital payments, savings, and borrowing behaviours across various economies.
The report listed the fees to include those for opening and maintaining an account (such as those paid monthly), as well as costs for transactions (such as checking balances, making withdrawals, and sending money).
The report also indicated that 63 per cent of adults in Nigeria have a financial account as of 2024 compared to 45 per cent in 2022.
According to the report, around the world, people increasingly have financial accounts. Though nearly half of adults lacked such accounts in 2011, and 26 per cent did in 2021, that number had fallen to just 21 per cent in 2024. Despite this progression, 1.3 billion adults worldwide still lack financial accounts and are thus unable to benefit directly from the formal financial system.
Nigeria is one of the eight countries where 53 per cent of adults without accounts, more than 650 million adults, live. The other countries are Bangladesh, China, the Arab Republic of Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan.
A part of the report read, “In Nigeria, 25 per cent of adults without accounts mentioned trust as an issue. This concern was often mentioned alongside the high costs of financial services. For instance, about 20 per cent of adults without accounts in Latin America and the Caribbean mentioned both concerns. Trust may be related to the perceived safety of keeping money in an account, as well as to understanding and anticipating service fees.”
It added, “This further highlights the importance of targeted and appropriate financial education, as well as appropriate consumer protection measures, including transparent pricing and terms and conditions, effective handling of complaints and mechanisms for redress, and adequate fraud and cybersecurity protections. In Nigeria, 22 per cent of adults without accounts reported the cost of financial services as a barrier.
These findings highlight the potential demand for more affordable accounts, including mobile money accounts, which may have lower fees.”
Other reasons unbanked Nigerians cited for being out of the formal financial system include lack of money, using a family member’s account and distance to the nearest financial institution.
The report indicated that mobile money accounts are the most common and fastest-growing type of accounts in most economies in sub-Saharan Africa except for Ethiopia and Nigeria, where banks dominate.
The barriers to individuals using mobile money were not having enough money, not having the necessary documentation, distance to a mobile money agent and cost of mobile money products.
The data on Nigeria revealed that 63 per cent of adults in Nigeria have a financial account, and 54 per cent have made or received a digital payment. Forty-three
per cent saved money in a formal financial institution, but merely nine per cent took loans from formal financial institutions in 2024.
However, mobile phone ownership was 84 per cent, with 38 per cent using the internet in the three months preceding the study.
The data paints a picture of relatively high mobile ownership but lower recent internet usage and limited access to formal borrowing, with credit from family or friends being the most common source for borrowing.