According to a 2019 report by the National Bureau of Statistics, 73.2 million adults representing 41.6 per cent of the adult population in Nigeria are financially excluded.
About one in five adults and 38 per cent of households report having a formal bank account. This includes both commercial banks (34 per cent of households) and other financial institutions such as microfinance institutions (MFI), cooperative societies, and savings associations. The incidence of banking is higher in the South West region with 56 per cent of households banked and lowest in the North West region with only 16 per cent of households having a formal bank account.
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The issue of financial exclusion has therefore been a major economic challenge that has received the attention of various governments over the past four decades. Prior to the recent efforts to promote financial inclusion, the Nigerian economy was largely a cash-based economy with a significant proportion of the narrow money stock in the form of currency outside the banking system.