The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that the country’s open banking system has not yet commenced operations, despite previous expectations for an August 2025 rollout.
However, the regulator assured that progress is being made on establishing the necessary governance framework and standardising application programming interfaces (APIs) to ensure the system’s safety and efficiency.
“Open banking hasn’t gone live yet,” stated Chai Gang, Deputy Director at the CBN’s Payments Systems Policy Department, during a panel session at Moonshot by TechCabal.
“We’ve put together a governance structure and are building a standardised API template. It will happen soon,” he added.
Although the CBN issued operational guidelines for open banking in March 2023, both the technical and regulatory foundations are still being finalised before the complete implementation can take place.
The bank did not specify a new launch date.
“There are the guidelines for open banking in Nigeria and the framework for open banking in Nigeria,” Gang explained. “We must be careful who has access to customers’ personal data.”
Open banking enables licensed financial institutions and third-party providers to securely share customer-approved data via APIs. Once fully implemented, it is anticipated to drive innovation in digital financial products and broaden access to credit across various industries.
“One of the strongest foundations for open banking is customer consent,” Gang noted. “We are building an automated process to ensure customers know what data is used, for how long, and can revoke permission anytime.”
He further explained that when Nigeria’s open banking system is eventually launched, there will be clear lines of accountability for any data breaches that occur. “Liability lies with whoever loses the data,” he said. “Data at rest or in flight must be protected, and whoever fails to do so bears responsibility.”
According to Gang, licensed operators will be held responsible for any breaches involving customer data, while unlicensed entities will only have access to anonymised information. Both categories, he emphasised, will be required to maintain strict data protection standards.
He added that governance within the open banking ecosystem must promote fairness and inclusivity. “If you leave it to the banks, it will be very difficult,” he said. “It has to be on an equal footing for all players.”
Gang also confirmed that the CBN is assessing how virtual assets, including stablecoins, fit within Nigeria’s financial regulatory framework. “The CBN is looking at these innovations [virtual assets],” he said. “We are not unaware that virtual assets, especially stablecoins, are being used in the country.”
Nonetheless, he cautioned that most stablecoins are pegged to the United States dollar and could influence the country’s monetary policy if used extensively in retail transactions.
“We are working with other agencies, like the SEC [Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission] to understand the impact, but these are conversations that need to happen,” he concluded.
