The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that the country's payment system had attracted about $500m worth of investments between the period of 2015 to 2020.
The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele made this disclosure today in Enugu while speaking on the theme, ‘Trends in Nigeria payments system: regulating the fintech digital playing field’, at the 31st seminar for finance correspondents and business editors.
The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, said the payment system in the country had over the years evolved through technological advancements and regulatory backing by the CBN to become a robust system.
He added, “the high level of confidence in our payment system, between 2015 and 2020, has attracted the investment of about $500m in firms run by Nigerian founders.” 
He called for increased scrutiny by regulators to monitor developments and ensure the continuous safety and soundness of the sector.
The governor said, “It is therefore imperative that regulators must keep pace with these exponential developments and leverage new knowledge and technology tools such as Regtech and Suptech to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their mandate.
Speaking on the efforts to cushion the effect of the pandemic, Emefiele stated the bank has implemented measured aimed at reducing the risk to financial stability.
He also noted that as part of the bank’s effort to drive development in the area of finance by leveraging latest technology, it would be introducing the eNaira in a few days.
Reiterating the importance of the eNaira, he said, “The CBN decided to introduce a central bank digital currency, the eNaira, which would help in attaining our goals of fostering greater inclusion using digital channels, supporting cross border payments for businesses and firms as well as providing a reliable channel for remittances inflows into the country.