Tosin Eniolorunda, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint, has said the next major growth opportunity in Nigeria’s payments ecosystem will come from building credit products on top of existing payment infrastructure.
Speaking during a panel session at the launch of the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028, Eniolorunda said Nigeria’s payments industry has reached a stage where transaction data can be leveraged to address one of the country’s biggest financial inclusion challenges—access to credit for small businesses.
What Eniolorunda is saying
According to the Moniepoint CEO, payment platforms have already established trust, visibility, and financial records through millions of daily transactions.
He argued that this foundation creates an opportunity for financial institutions and fintech companies to extend credit more effectively to businesses that have traditionally struggled to access formal financing.
- Payment infrastructure already captures valuable transaction data
- Digital payment histories can help assess creditworthiness
- Small businesses can be offered financing based on actual cash flows
- Credit products can be delivered through existing payment channels
Eniolorunda noted that the next phase of innovation should focus on using this infrastructure to solve financing constraints faced by millions of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Why it matters
Access to credit remains one of the biggest obstacles for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
Many businesses are unable to obtain loans because they lack:
- Traditional collateral
- Formal financial statements
- Extensive banking histories
- Conventional credit records
However, digital payment platforms generate transaction data that can provide insights into business performance, sales volumes, and cash-flow patterns.
This allows lenders to make more informed lending decisions and potentially extend financing to previously underserved businesses.
More insights
Nigeria’s payments ecosystem has experienced significant growth over the past decade, driven by:
- Mobile banking adoption
- Fintech innovation
- Agent banking expansion
- Increased digital payments
- Regulatory support from the Central Bank of Nigeria
As payment infrastructure matures, industry participants increasingly view embedded financial services—particularly lending—as a natural extension of the sector’s evolution.
The approach has already gained traction globally, where fintech firms use transaction data to offer working capital loans, merchant financing, and short-term credit products.
What you should know
The launch of the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 reflects broader efforts to modernize the country’s financial ecosystem and deepen financial inclusion.
Industry stakeholders believe that integrating credit into payment systems could:
- Expand access to finance for MSMEs
- Support business growth and job creation
- Increase economic productivity
- Strengthen financial inclusion
- Improve the efficiency of credit allocation
According to Eniolorunda, the infrastructure required to unlock this opportunity largely already exists. The next challenge is leveraging payment data responsibly and effectively to deliver financing solutions that can support the growth of Nigeria’s small business sector.
